THE MAGAZINE VOLUME 28 NO. 1 | WINTER 2018 · Britt Vogel CLASS NOTES COPY EDITORS Anne Stupp McAlpin ’ 64 Libby Hall McDonnell ’ 58 ... As a student at MICDS, Gabie knows first-hand

T H E M A G A Z I N E

V O L U M E 2 8 N O . 1 | W I N T E R 2 0 1 8

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In this issue:

M I S S I O N M A T T E R S

02 A Message from Lisa Lyle

03 Headliners

10 Academic Excellence

12 The Arts

14 Our Community

16 Faculty Excellence

24 #RamNation

30 Bold Action: A Campaign for MICDS

C L A S S N O T E S

38 For the Record

39 Upcoming Events

42 Alumni News & Accolades

Features:

07Doctors of ’08How seven MICDS alumnae are making their marks on the world of medicine.

18A Homecoming to RememberHomecoming Weekend melds the past with the present as we explore MICDS traditions through the perspectives of several community members. Go Rams!

C O N T E N T S

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2 WINTER 2018

O U R M I S S I O N

More than ever, our nation needs responsible men and women who can meet the challenges of this world with confidence and embrace all its people with compassion. The next generation must include those who think critically and resolve to stand for what is good and right.

Our School cherishes academic rigor, encourages and praises meaningful individual achievement, and fosters virtue. Our independent education prepares young people for higher learning and for lives of purpose and service.

O U R S T R A T E G I C P L A N P R I O R I T I E S

T R A N S F O R M AT I V E S T U D E N T E X P E R I E N C E

G R E AT T E A C H I N G A N D L E A R N I N G 2 . 0

E N S U R I N G A V I B R A N T S C H O O L F U T U R E

A B O U T M I C D S M A G A Z I N E

MICDS Magazine has been in print since 1993.

It is published three times per year. Unless otherwise noted,

articles may be reprinted with credit to MICDS.

E D I T O R

Jill Clark

D E S I G N

Almanac

H E A D O F S C H O O L

Lisa L. Lyle

D I R E C T O R O F M A R K E T I N G

& C O M M U N I C A T I O N S

Monica Shripka

M U L T I M E D I A S P E C I A L I S T

Glennon Williams

C O N T R I B U T I N G W R I T E R S

Meghan Clark

Lisa L. Lyle

Monica Shripka

Britt Vogel

C L A S S N O T E S C O P Y E D I T O R S

Anne Stupp McAlpin ’64

Libby Hall McDonnell ’58

Cliff Saxton ’64

A D D R E S S C H A N G E

Office of Alumni and Development

MICDS, 101 N. Warson Rd.

St. Louis, MO 63124

C O R R E S P O N D E N C E

Office of Communications

MICDS, 101 N. Warson Rd.

St. Louis, MO 63124

F O L L O W U S !

/ M I C D S S C H O O L

M I C D S S T L

@ M I C D S

M A RY I N S T I T U T E & SA I N T LO U I S CO U N T RY DAY SC H O O L A LU M N I

@ M I C D S _ O F F I C I A L

3MICDS

A M E S S A G E F R O M L I S A L Y L E

Happy Winter and Happy New Year! The beginning of a new year provides a wonderful opportunity

to look both back and ahead. Looking back over the fall and early days of winter, there is so much to

celebrate; and as we look ahead to the spring, there’s much excitement about all that is planned.

This fall, we celebrated 100 years since the founding of Saint Louis Country Day School. Our CDS

Centennial Bash brought both CDS alumni—including Jack Danforth ’54 and Sterling K. Brown ’94

(via video)—to our campus to celebrate this important milestone amid lots of archival memorabilia.

With the reopening of the newly-named Polk Family Pond following construction, the first senior

accepted into college (pg. 15) was tossed into the water by her classmates. MICDS also beat

Burroughs during Homecoming Weekend in both football (52-0) and field hockey (1-0).

What an incredible and rich history we have here at MICDS! Many traditions that date back to the

days of CDS and Mary I remain alive and well. As you explore this issue, I hope you’ll witness how the

School continues to build upon the firm foundation provided by both predecessor schools.

In the pages that follow, you’ll see just a glimpse of the many other activities we participated in as a

community this fall—from the Solar Eclipse to a new Upper School initiative called Ram-Fams. In this

issue, you will also learn how our students and faculty continue to strive for excellence in and out of

the classroom—from a student interning for National Geographic in Tokyo to another conducting

research at Harvard, as well as faculty and staff engaging in important equity and inclusion work. Oh,

and we have a few student celebrities featured in this issue too!

In another story, you’ll find how seven alumnae from the class of 2008 are carrying our long legacy

of excellence in STEM education forward as they pursue professions as medical doctors. In this

feature, learn also how Mary Institute alumnae pioneered a path for women in medical professions.

And finally, discover how Bold Action: The Campaign for MICDS continues to solidify our place as an

extraordinary independent educational institution where students become their best selves and

prepare for lives of purpose and service.

Thank you for your ongoing support of our Mission to prepare leaders who will meet the challenges

of this world with confidence and embrace all its people with compassion. I hope you enjoy this issue

of MICDS Magazine and send each of you best wishes for the year to come.

Warmly,

Lisa LyleHead of School

magazine.micds.org

4 WINTER 2018

A Traveler in Tokyo Last summer, Gabie Korein ’18 experienced a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Tokyo, Japan for a photography internship with National Geographic. One of the biggest lessons she learned—to be a traveler and not a tourist.

“Travelers try to fit in with the customs, and tourists come to someone else’s country and expect it to be the way they want it. During my experience, and especially while taking photos, I needed to see through the eyes of a traveler, not a tourist,” Gabie said.

She explored the countryside, immersed in Tokyo’s neighborhoods, visited temples and shrines, tried-on the fashion and tasted the cuisine — the trip culminating in a gallery where she showcased her work. Passionate about landscape photography, Gabie said she was especially excited to visit Mount Fuji. What she wasn’t prepared for, though, was that her journey would ignite her passion for telling stories about people.

“Photography is more than capturing pictures of things you think are pretty. It’s about capturing stories, and stories involve people.”

As a student at MICDS, Gabie knows first-hand that it’s the people who make a place so special. In fact, she was able to fully embrace the opportunity thanks to the teachers, mentors and classmates who have pushed her to succeed.

“All the things MICDS promotes—being brave, putting yourself out there, experiencing new things and being a leader. Those are the reasons I went on the trip.”

Gabie’s experience also allowed her to meld her love for art with science, a passion that was ignited through an environmental science course at MICDS. It was in that course that she realized her passion for photography could be paired with bringing awareness to national and global issues.

“I always cared about the environment, but I never really loved science until then,” she said. “It opened my eyes to a new side of myself. As long as it impacts people, those are the stories I want to tell through photography.”

These are a selection of the photos Gabie took during her trip. They, along with several others, were chosen for the gallery where she showcased her work.

S E E M O R E PH OTOS A N D R E A D TH E F U LL S TO RY O N LI N E >>magazine.micds.org

H E A D L I N E R S

5MICDS

Middle School Courtyard Transforms into Multi-Use Space This summer, the Middle School courtyard got a major facelift, opening to students, faculty and staff in early fall. Immediately, students took advantage of their new outdoor dining area while enjoying time with friends on the sun-soaked patio. The new courtyard is also a great addition to the MICDS learning environment, featuring a circular learning space for teachers to take their classes outdoors.

H E A D L I N E R S

Preserving LegacyThe Mary Institute's stone logo, which was once on Washington University's campus, now has a new home on the edge of the courtyard.

6 WINTER 2018

Rams Represent at STARS Research ProgramMICDS represented, once again, at University of Missouri-St. Louis’ annual Students and Teachers as Research Scientists (STARS) summer program. During the six-week program, 96 high school students and six undergraduate research associates participated—and eight were from MICDS.

As STARS Scholars, students participated in research projects with partners from Confluence Discovery Technologies, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis. Their research papers were reviewed by a panel of experts from Monsanto, Confluence Life Science, SIU-Edwardsville and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The reviewers looked for overall quality based on standards the scientific community uses to determine worthiness for formal publications.

Of the eight MICDS participants, two STARS shone especially brightly. Alexander Donovan ’18 and Amanda Kalishman ’18, among 32 other participants, received an award for excellence in research for their scientific papers titled “Bioinformatics analysis of fly cognition genes” and “Comparison of the type III immune response in adult and neonatal mice during respiratory viral infection” respectively.

(Back row, from left) Richik Chakraborty ’18, Izzy Critchfield-Jain ’18, Atri Bhattacharyya ’18 and Alex Donovan ’18.

(Front row, from left) Christine Moser ’18, Sruthi Sripada ’18, Sophie Paul ’18 and Amanda Kalishman ’18

Playing for the Blues

Catherine Cai ’27 and Eliot Chapel are MICDS famous! This fall,

the St. Louis Blues asked if they could film a commercial in Eliot

Chapel—and feature a student. And who better than Catherine

Cai ’27 to play the role. A talented pianist, last summer Catherine

won the Solo Elementary A and the Contemporary Composer

A2 of the 2017 Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition.

A Swim with the Sharks

MICDS student Ehan Kamat ’18 got his 15 minutes of fame this

year too! On October 15, Ehan appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank,

a reality show that features entrepreneurs making pitches to

notable venture capitalists (plus, guest shark and MLB superstar

Alex Rodriguez).

A lifelong idea guy, Ehan invented the Solemender at the age

of 12. After watching his mother roll a frozen toy on her foot to

alleviate foot pain, he learned that the medical community often

recommends freezing a water bottle and rolling the sole of the

foot on it to treat foot pain conditions such as plantar fasciitis.

Ehan thought a refreezable roller with a nonskid base would be a

more effective, less messy alternative than a frozen water bottle.

SEE MORE PHOTOS AND CLIPS FROM CATHERINE AND EHAN’S TV APPEARANCES >>magazine.micds.org

Speaking of Science Stars!

Last summer, Ella Halford ’18 spent time interning in the genomics

platform at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT in Boston.

There she learned about and aided in all the different processes

of sequencing a genome or an exome, helped the development

team work on improving current protocols and created and

prepped an animal DNA library to be sequenced.

7MICDS

— D A V I D M A R T I N E A U

" We are born blank slates, and we are socialized

by our family and friends, our teachers and faith

communities—the community institutions that surround

us. We can choose to either break the cycle of the

impact of socialization, or we can choose to remain quiet,

go along and do nothing. The work is ongoing. It is like

an onion we unpeel to get at deeper layers.”

David Martineau, Executive Director of NCCJ-STL, spoke at MICDS’ first Community Conversations of

the 2017-2018 academic year, where he drew on his experiences as a parent and educator and shared

the obstacles and joys of talking with kids about racism and how to be an “upstander.” As a white man

with an adopted African American child, Martineau’s perspective is influenced by the way his child sees

and experiences the world. He presented helpful tools for parents to think about where they are and

how they came to their understanding of race, as well as strategies for engaging in conversations with

others about race and racism. Due to the positive reception from community members, Martineau was

invited back to speak at the second Community Conversations event of the year.

David Martineau

Executive Director, National Conference

for Community and Justice of

Metropolitan St. Louis (NCCJ-STL)

S E E N A N D H E A R D

8 WINTER 2018

Read w

hat these young w

om

en have accom

plished and how

MIC

DS

played an integral role in their success.

MICDS alumnae are commonly known for shattering glass ceilings—from the graduates of Mary Institute in the 1860s who were pioneers for women in education, to today, where graduates from various backgrounds go on to attend the nation’s most selective colleges and universities, participate in competitive research fellowships and internships, and enter STEM fields around the globe. When it comes to the MICDS Class of 2008, seven alumnae are doing some shattering of their own as they claim their spaces in the field of health professions with M.D. after their names—an impressive number from one class! In the following spread, read what these young women have accomplished and how they reflect on MICDS’ role in their success.

F E A T U R E

Doctors of ’08 H O W S E V E N M I C D S A L U M N A E A R E M A K I N G T H E I R M A R K S O N T H E W O R L D O F M E D I C I N E

“If you have a passion or interest, but you

haven’t seen someone who looks like you in that

role, don’t let that deter you. Run with it. Be the first. Embrace teachers

who challenge you most. They’re investing in

you and see your fullest potential.”

— S T E P H A N I E C O U S I N S ’ 0 8

The first African American to graduate from Mary Institute, Johnetta Mable Craig went on to earn her medical degree. She continues to practice medicine in St. Louis today.

In the late 1920s, Mary Institute students studied electronics in the physics laboratory.

9MICDS

F E A T U R E

Megan Eyunni Pinnamaneni

Pediatrician, SUNY Upstate

Pediatric and Adolescent Center;

Assistant Professor in Pediatrics,

SUNY Upstate Medical School

Ariana Mooradian

Resident,

Saint Louis University,

internal medicine

Megan Gornet

Resident,

Johns Hopkins Hospital,

obstetrics and gynecology

Q:Did you always know you wanted to be a doctor? What motivated you to become one?

I didn’t grow up thinking about a career in medicine. During sophomore year of high school, I started volunteering with BJC Hospice and at an international medical camp. Through these experiences, I started to develop an interest in pursuing a career in medicine and advocacy.

I wanted to be a doctor for a long time. I think, in the early years, that was influenced by family members who are physicians, but over time I could see that it was well-suited to what I wanted to do in life personally and professionally. I knew I wanted a challenging and fast-paced career but also one centered around helping others.

I always knew I wanted to be a doctor! Growing up with two parents as physicians (OB-GYN and orthopedic surgery), I was groomed from a young age to appreciate what it means to take care of patients and have a passion for science. I think my MICDS classmates knew this about me too; my peer-selected “25 years later” superlative in the yearbook was about my life as a future doctor.

Q:In what way did MICDS prepare you for life after graduation?

The School’s mandated extra-curricular activities forced me to be efficient with my time and learn how to incorporate my social life into my busy schedule. These experiences helped me manage my time wisely during medical school and residency.

It was a fantastic place to spend some of the most formative years of life. A truly remarkable aspect is the level of respect teachers have for students. I was made to feel that my voice, interests and concerns mattered.

My education was unparalleled among my college peers in preparing me for the academic rigor of Vanderbilt. I was able to excel in my classes because of the extensive academic preparation I received, though that excellence was most reflected in what I was able to balance outside the classroom.

Q:What is it about MICDS that inspires students and young women especially to pursue their passions?

The community is filled with extremely successful and hardworking women. Amazing guest speakers, inspiring teachers and highly motivated parents constantly surrounded us. There is endless inspiration for young women!

It not only encouraged success but expected it from an early age. I remember Ms. Armstrong in 5th grade telling us to take advantage of opportunities. Ultimately, one of the best resources was one another—a class full of intelligent, kind, active classmates whom I learned from and made lifelong connections.

I met several of my closest friends at MICDS, including now Drs. Krissy Wymore and Kelsey Anderson. We have always pushed each other to succeed and to relish in each others’ successes. After hundreds of hours spent together from ages 13 to now, I can’t say it’s surprising that the three of us all chose OB-GYN as our specialties.

10 WINTER 2018

Stephanie Cousins

Resident,

Kaiser Permanente Medical

Center– Oakland, California,


Krissy Wymore

Resident,

IU Health System Indianapolis,


Kelsey Anderson

Resident,

Barnes Jewish Hospital –

Washington University,


Sami Morley

Resident,

Mayo Clinic – Rochester, Minnesota,

internal medicine with a specialty in

cardiovascular disease in women

I am the first doctor on both sides of my family, coming from a lineage of teachers, lawyers and entrepreneurs. So in a way, serving others and giving back to my community is in my DNA. I’ve always known I wanted to be a doctor, a surgeon in particular. My earliest memory was in 4th grade, when I sutured a dead frog’s leg back together. My mom found me with gloves, a mask, needle and thread!

I don’t have a family background in medicine, and I knew I didn’t want to be a lawyer or join the military, which are my parents’ backgrounds. But, it’s hard to pinpoint when or why I decided I wanted to become a doctor. I’ve always been drawn to science. It was my strong suit growing up, and I was the kid who wasn’t grossed out when we did dissections.

After graduation, I knew I wanted to do something in the STEM field, but I didn’t decide I wanted to become a doctor until college. My motivation was to join a field that was both rewarding and innovative—this field is constantly growing and changing, which makes every day different.

I decided I wanted to be doctor in high school. Medicine is the perfect combination of science and interpersonal interaction. Also, my dad had a rare illness when I was growing up and was treated by incredible physicians. From watching him, I learned the importance of innovative medicine, but even more so, of compassionate care.

MICDS fine-tuned my work ethic and helped me to multitask—to balance academics and athletics, demanding excellence in both arenas. These skills are tantamount to my everyday life. More importantly, my teachers, coaches and friends challenged and continue to inspire me to be a better citizen, advocate and ally.

MICDS gave me a firm foundation in sciences, and I was able to take a variety of classes with teachers who challenged me. In addition, I learned the importance of relationship building and compassion. These are important attributes as I work one-on-one with patients—especially in the field of infertility.

I learned hard work, dedication and perseverance at MICDS. It was definitely a great school to prepare you for the workload of college and medical school.

It prepares you well for any career by providing a well-rounded education. I felt overly prepared for college, which allowed me to excel even in difficult classes. I felt lucky to be able to build upon such a strong foundation.

It gives students a great degree of autonomy. In that lies the freedom of expression, to create a path that is uniquely yours. MICDS lays the foundation of resolve, resilience and strength to go boldly in the direction of your dreams.

We were surrounded by successful women. I was grateful to have friends whose parents are doctors, some of whom I’ve done research with and studied alongside. In addition, I was able to focus on what I was really passionate about.

The many successful and career-driven women I met through MICDS are the reason why I am a doctor. I met two of my best friends there, and both of their mothers exemplify the ability to balance career and family, which inspired me to pursue a career I was passionate about.

The community is full of incredible female role models—teachers, administrators, parents and alumni. These individuals are valuable resources—some of whom I still communicate with today.

11MICDS

A C A D E M I C E X C E L L E N C E

Ancient Engineering There’s something to be said for ancient engineering, and one simple design—the triangle. This fall, 5th graders learned a thing or two about the strength and resiliency of the triangle as a base for construction while combining their knowledge with a piece of ancient Egyptian history.

Mr. Branson Lawrence and Ms. Robyn Williams’ science and history classes joined forces to create ancient Egyptian pyramids in the new MakerSpace classroom. Students teamed up to become royal engineers hired by Pharaoh Khufu to build his pyramids. To test their engineering skills, each team built a pyramid out of everyday materials—dry noodles, notecards and tape. Just like ancient times, teams were allowed to trade unwanted items for items they needed to construct their pyramid. Before construction commenced, the teams watched a design video on the power of using triangles in construction. With that in mind, students set out to create a 30-centimeter tall pyramid that could potentially hold the weight of a brick.

National Merit Semifinalists The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced 11 MICDS students as National Merit Semifinalists in its 63rd annual scholarship program.

“We are thrilled to have 11 MICDS students represented among other high-achieving high school seniors across the country,” said Lisa Lyle, Head of School. “MICDS continues to offer a well-rounded education where we prepare graduates who will lead lives of purpose and service. These 11 students are a testament to that important work.”

With a challenging academic curriculum and a small student to teacher ratio, MICDS is known annually for educating students who are named National Merit Semifinalists. When calculating test scores for the Class of 2017, the School’s mean ACT composite score was 30, with a mean SAT composite score of 1350. In addition and with support from one of the nation’s leading college counseling programs, MICDS sends a larger number of students to the most competitive four-year universities (as ranked by Barron’s) than any other private school in the greater St. Louis area.

“At MICDS, our faculty and students work in tandem to help each student achieve his or her academic goals,” said Scott Small, Head of Upper School at MICDS. “These 11 students are some of the School’s best and brightest, and I’m confident that exciting things are in store for these young scholars.”

“ It’s great to be able to combine our science and history classes to create an interdisciplinary approach that encourages our students to get creative, think critically, work together as a team and get them excited about learning.” —Ms. Williams

Talan Smith ’25, Revathi Warrier ’25 and Kate Petersen ’25 put their pyramid plans in motion.

(Back row, from left) Lucy Cadanau ’18, Sarah Griswold ’18, Ella Halford ’18, Bobby Loomis ’18, Binxuan Zhang ’18 and Jacqueline Zoeller ’18.

(Front row, from left) Blake Abel ’18, Nick Jones ’18, Atri Bhattacharyya ’18, William Ball ’18 and Alex Donovan ’18.

BY THE NUMBERS

THIS YEAR, THE NATIONAL MERIT

SCHOLARSHIP CORPORATION

(NMSC) NAMED APPROXIMATELY

16,000 HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS AS

SEMIFINALISTS AND WILL

AWARD SOME

7,500 NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS

AMOUNTING TO MORE THAN

$32,000,000

12 WINTER 2018

Turtle Habitats Come to Life At MICDS, we bring education to life—literally! This fall, Lower School students in Christy Moore’s science class witnessed baby turtles hatching from their eggs.

“Over the summer, a box turtle laid eggs at my house,” said Moore. “I cordoned off the area and then waited for 67 days. When I went out to check on the nest, the turtles were hatching.”

Since their hatching, the Lower School has incorporated them into the 1st grade unit on Form and Function, a unit that introduces students to plants and animals, as well as the structures they develop

to help them survive. During the unit, students talk about how all our differences help create this “big jigsaw puzzle that fits together.” At the end, the 1st graders use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow and meet their needs.

Currently, the water turtle is in the 50- gallon tank in Moore’s classroom, and the four baby box turtles are in the pen in the Lower School garden—a true exercise in learning about habitats!

Turtles hatching in Christy Moore’s science class

Alexis White ’29 and Charlie Swank ’29 look on as the turtles make their appearance.

Hands-on Learning!

13MICDS

It’s probably fair to say that most of our memories of Middle School art class don’t involve videos and quizzes. But in JoAnne Vogel’s classroom, they’re commonplace. In fact, before students even begin any new project, they must watch a video and pass a quiz showing they fully grasp the assignment. The result? A completely transformed classroom where “the kids have absolute control over their learning,” said Vogel. So whether students are working with clay, crafting a mini mobile out of wire or turning their latest drawing into a foil design, students approach each project with more clarity and fluidity—from start to finish.

Often called blended learning, Vogel’s approach to teaching mixes digital media with traditional teaching methods. Not only does the approach make her classroom run more smoothly, it also encourages students to be self-sufficient by allowing them to move through an assignment at their own pace.

This switch in classroom dynamics also gives Vogel more time to work one-on-one with students. “The videos are there to make sure they have a basic understanding before beginning a project,” she said. “Once they have that, I’m able to work individually with students to raise challenge levels as appropriate.”

And while more time for individualized instruction ranks high on her list of benefits of blended learning, it’s not her number one. “The kids help each other,” she said. “They’re teaching each other because they’re so confident with the material, and that’s great to see.”

T H E A R T S

Blended Learning Art Teacher JoAnne Vogel Creates Classroom Clarity

JoAnne Vogel works closely with Penelope Chen ’23

on an art concept.

14 WINTER 2018

MICDS Students Pitch PerfectMICDS students are representing this year with their vocal talents. This fall, eight students made soundwaves as they were selected by audition to perform with the 2017 St. Louis Metro District Choir. Major kudos to Hope Abel ’19 (Soprano), Nicholas Clifford ’20 (Bass), McKay Marshall ’19 (Soprano), Arjun Ramakrishnan ’20 (Bass)—and especially to Jack Cai ’19 (Bass), Izzy Essman ’18 (Soprano), Layth Hamed ’19 (Bass) and Nick Jones ’18 (Bass) for scoring in the top twenty of their respective voice part. Of those students, Izzy Essman was selected to perform with the 2018 Missouri All-State Choir, which will perform as the grand finale of the Missouri Music Educators Association Conference & Clinic on Saturday, January 27, 2018 at Tan-Tar-A Resort.

In addition, three MICDS students were selected by blind audition to perform with the American Choral Directors Association Southwest Division Honor Choirs. The graded honor choirs are comprised of students from Missouri, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico. Izzy Essman was selected to

perform with the 11th/12th grade mixed honor choir. Akshay Patwardhan ’20 (Tenor) and Arjun Ramakrishnan were selected to perform with the 7th-10th grade men’s honor choir. They will perform as the grand finale of the ACDA Southwest Division Conference in Oklahoma City on Saturday, March 11, 2018.

Along with competition, MICDS choir students also showcase their talents through three annual campus performances—the Fall Choral Concert, the Winter Masterworks Concert and the Spring Pops Concert—all which draw a big turnout each year.

“Now, with anywhere from 110-135 students who participate in our choirs each year, MICDS is the largest vocal music program of any independent school in St. Louis,” said Dana Self, Director of Choirs and AP Music Theory Instructor. “Our students really push themselves. Each year we give them music that is extremely challenging and they always rise to the occasion.”

Spring Pops ConcertThursday, April 27 | 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 28 | 7:00 p.m.

Orthwein Theatre

Save the Date

Dana Self directing Men’s Choir class.

15MICDS

Totality AwesomeOn Monday, August 21, MICDS students had a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see the solar eclipse in totality. Teachers orbited their students throughout the morning, using the eclipse as a learning opportunity and incorporating the event into lessons ranging from science to art. Around 12:50 p.m., students put on their pair of ISO certified solar glasses and looked on in starry-eyed wonder as the moon eclipsed the sun. As totality occurred, students and faculty were over the moon witnessing this rare spectacle. It was truly a day of cosmic proportions!

O U R C O M M U N I T Y

Lower School students look on as the eclipse approaches totality.

WAT C H A T I M E L A P S E O F T H E S O L A R E C L I P S E ’ S S H A D O W M OV I N G AC R O S S T H E C A M P U S A N D C H E C K O U T M O R E P H O T O S F R O M T H I S M O M E N T O U S DAY >>magazine.micds.org

A day of cosmic proportions!

16 WINTER 2018

A New Tradition: Ram-FamsThis fall, Upper School students launched a new

tradition—Ram-Fams! Sponsored by Students

for Change and created to unite the Upper

School, Ram-Fams help foster kindness, respect

and friendships across all grade levels.

“This program was created by students in the

hope that it be student-led in the future, too,

with minimal faculty responsibility. We have

received lots of positive feedback from students

so far and could not be more excited,” said

Beatriz Sadala ’18 and Ella Halford ’18, Students

for Change co-heads.

To kick-off a year filled with cross-class

bonding, school spirit and unity, students met

in Brauer Auditorium, where senior-leaders

revealed their “families.” Then, each group met

separately throughout the Upper School to

make introductions and play icebreaker games,

coming back together at the McDonnell Athletic

Center for group activities.

Ninth grader Nikki Garaygay ’21 shared, “The

Ram-Fams kick-off was such a good way to

connect with people from other grades. As a

new student, I don’t know many people from the

upper grades or everyone in my 9th grade class,

so Ram-Fams helped me meet people I normally

wouldn’t.”

Tradition Continues at the Updated Polk PondTwo long-standing traditions made a big splash this year with the pond’s reemergence on campus—after a brief, year-long hiatus due to construction of the Steward Family Aquatic Center. Thanks to generous support from the Polk family, Bill ’74, Carrie, Olivia ’14, Jack ’16 and Finn ’19, and the dedication of Polk Pond, students will enjoy the pond and all its traditions for years to come.

First up this year was the Senior Boat Races, where each senior advisory constructed a boat out of common materials such as cardboard, duct tape and paint and raced across the murky waters. Congrats to this fall’s winner—Ms. Hood’s advisory! The victory was short-celebrated, however, as the entire Senior class plunged into the pond following the race, making one giant splash.

Just a few weeks later, the Upper School enjoyed its second pond tradition—the annual pond dunking, where the first MICDS senior accepted into college is towed from Brauer Auditorium and thrown into the pond. This year’s lucky admit was Katie O’Hara ’18, who was accepted into University of Kansas.

Reed Kearins ’18 celebrates with Mason Hall ’18 after Mason’s strong Boat Races finish.

(From left) Hanna Wurdack ’21, Simrin Phatak ’21, Jamerson Durrill ’19, Zionn Pearson ’18, Henry Gillis ’18 and Caroline Denk ’18 link arms during a Ram-Fams icebreaker activity.

C H E C K O U T B O N U S P H O T O S A N D A S E N I O R B OAT R AC E R E C A P V I D E O AT >>magazine.micds.org 17MICDS

(From left) Anne Williamson, Gabe Grabarek, Natalie Griffin, David Sanders, Christopher Barker Alyoska Hadjukiewicz, Patrick Huewe, Emily Coppersmith, Steven Crumb, Lily Childs, Soledad Villagomez, Tricia Dimit, Sarah Elliott, Rene Ashman and Zuowei Chang.

Language Teachers Head to NashvilleInstead of taking a trip around the globe, this fall, the entire World Languages Department, including Lower, Middle and Upper School faculty, visited a closer corner of the world—Nashville, Tennessee. There, they attended the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) Convention, which is the largest and broadest of its kind and focuses primarily on world language pedagogy.

“As a department, we wanted to spend time together thinking about the next phase of planning curriculum with the best and brightest minds in the field," said Patrick Huewe, Department Chair of World Languages.

The convention also gave the MICDS world languages faculty the chance to learn more about one another, share their common teaching experiences and ideas and plan for future professional development—all while enjoying the backdrop of “the country music capital of the world.” Each faculty member traveled to Nashville with a personalized goal they developed at the beginning of the year–and the convention gave them opportunities to explore resources in order to fulfill those goals.

Days of CaringAt MICDS, developing compassionate leaders is not only part of the Mission—it’s also a tradition. Each fall, the Upper School holds their annual Day of Caring and Leadership, and just like every other, this year’s event was filled with moments of kindness. Ninth and 10th graders heard from Tina Meier, Founder and CEO of the Megan Meier Foundation on anti-bullying, community building and what it means to be an upstander. Juniors participated in team-building activities at Camp Wyman.

Seniors engaged in community service activities to deepen their understanding of the experience of our neighbors throughout the St. Louis community. Specifically, a group of MICDS seniors worked with students at Dewey International Studies School to clean up the Dewey garden for fall planting. In addition, a small group of seniors attended the Project 99 Leadership Conference, which addressed the effects of social media on leadership.

In the Lower School, students celebrated Beasley Community Day, a day of kindness, creativity, friendship and fun. During the day, students made kindness promises, worked together to create service acts of kindness in the greater community and participated in lunch and other activities where they made friends of different ages and grades.

O U R C O M M U N I T Y F A C U L T Y E X C E L L E N C E

Sruthi Sripada ’18 works in the garden alongside Dewey students at the Dewey International Studies School.

During this year’s convention, Lily Childs gave a presentation called

“Going Global: Project Based Learning with Foreign Partners.” It marks the

first time an MICDS faculty member has presented at the ACTFL Convention.

18 WINTER 2018

This fall, faculty and staff at MICDS began their year-long equity and inclusion education courses, which Head of School Lisa Lyle and Director of Faculty Equity and Inclusion and Student Activities Erica Moore officially launched on Friday, August 11. This year, the work focuses on building their capacity to best serve the needs of each and every child, and the programs explore bias, anti-racism, whiteness, culturally responsive teaching, current events, social justice, personal lived experiences and experiences of others that impact how we see and live in the world—and how that affects educators as they engage with students.

“This is an important piece of our ongoing work to make our community one where each child feels valued, affirmed and included. Faculty and staff are eager to continue this work as we better ourselves and best serve our students—students who will need to be fully prepared to meet the complex challenges of this world and stand for what is good and right. As educators, we have an obligation to prepare the world’s future leaders in this way,” said Moore.

Head of School Lisa Lyle also shared, “The world our students enter will demand sophisticated cross-cultural and critical thinking skills that can only develop through intentional interactions with folks whose life experience and perspectives are different than their own. All children benefit from an educational environment in which they develop both deeper self-awareness and a better understanding of how others see the world. Only within a diverse community of learners can that happen, and while necessary, diversity alone is not sufficient.”

Opportunities for MICDS faculty and staff include using current events to explore issues of bias, mini-culture tours of St. Louis and various studies of books such as Waking Up White, Anti-Bias Education for Young Children, Courageous Conversations about Race and the film I’m Not Racist, Am I?

MICDS faculty and staff engage in this paramount

work as the School continues to enroll an increasingly

diverse student body.

For the 2017-18 academic year:

34% of the student body self-

identifies as students of color

Students come from

65zip codes across the

greater St. Louis region

39languages are spoken

in homes.

Read Lisa Lyle’s blog, The Case for Cultural

Competence, by visiting Inside MICDS at

info.micds.org/blog

Faculty and Staff Engage in Equity and Inclusion Education

Tabari Coleman from the Anti-Defamation League leads MICDS faculty and staff through “Routes and Roots: Do My Routes and Roots Contribute to Oppression? Using our Commutes and Family History to Explore Unconscious Bias”

19MICDS

F E A T U R E

A. Nicholas Mellanby ’19 leads vocals as his band performs during Food Truck Friday.

B. Heidi Millman ’31 transforms into a butterfly at the face painting Carnival booth.

C. Varsity Boys Soccer hosts JBS during Homecoming Weekend—their first Homecoming game on the new O’Hara Field with fans cheering from Ron Holtman Stadium. Photo by Monica Shripka.

D. Students strike a pose for the Carnival photo booth.

E. Students and fans gather around the bonfire—a Homecoming tradition that dates back as far as 1935. During that year’s Country Day-John Burroughs football game, Codasco beat Burroughs, 33-7.

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J I L L C L A R K

“Homecoming” at our School has taken various forms throughout the years—from both Country Day and Mary Institute students attending elaborate dances dating as far back as the 1930s to parades; teas for alumni, students, and parents; and more extensive and diverse celebrations beginning in the 1990s after MI and CDS became one. Over the past decade, though, Homecoming has taken on new meaning and significance, melding old traditions with new ones. Homecoming Weekend as it’s experienced today—with additional events for the entire community and sports contests throughout the weekend—blends longstanding traditions such as the bonfire and spirit days with newer ones such as the Carnival and MICDS-JBS Fun Run. And of course, one aspect of Homecoming has stood the test of time—the Saturday-afternoon Varsity Football game, in recent decades the contest against John Burroughs.

As this fall we celebrated 10 years since we launched the official Homecoming Weekend festivities here at MICDS, we thought we’d spin the story a little differently, telling it through the eyes of various people who represent different facets of our vibrant and diverse community. And that’s what Jill Clark, Chief Storyteller at MICDS, set out to do when she sat down with each of the participants featured here. While the stories are written by her, they are meant to showcase what Homecoming is like from myriad perspectives. By reading the pages that follow, we hope you’ll catch a glimpse of the Homecoming magic, see yourself in the stories and celebrate along with us 10 years since our old-meets-new tradition began.

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“Philip Ralph!” I hear my name over the megaphone.Before I know it, my friends are hooting and hollering as I make my way to the gym floor. This being my first year at MICDS, I’ve never been to the Middle School Pep Rally before. These relay races are a fun way to get us excited about Homecoming—just one of the many parts that make up this tradition. And now I guess it’s my turn to represent my 7th grade class. I can hear the bleachers rattle as my classmates stomp and cheer. “Go Philip” they yell as I make the final stretch.

Later that evening, I hear my name called again. “Hey Philip! We’re all getting in line,” my friend shouts as I shuffle down the steps by the pond and make my way to the Food Trucks. In just a few short weeks, I’ve managed to make some great friends.

We eat our BBQ looking on toward the new stadium. Tomorrow it will be packed with fans, myself included. My buddy snaps a cool photo of us with the new stadium in the background. #RamNation

My mom picks me and my brother, Walter ’21, up after the bonfire. As she drives us home, I think about how cool it is to be at a school with opportunities to celebrate traditions like we have here. Plus, even in Middle School I get the chance to play soccer on an organized team. Pretty awesome!

It’ll be a quick pop-over to the tennis courts to watch the Girls Varsity team play. They’re likely to return to State again this year, just as they did last year with a 3rd place win. This is one sport where the rivalry between MICDS and Burroughs is especially fun to watch, as both teams bring with them a great deal of talent. Kriya ’25 has hopes to play on the tennis team one day. She has a lesson in about an hour and a half. But first, the Homecoming Carnival, our favorite Homecoming tradition. I’m so thankful we’re at a school that has something for kids of all ages and interests.

Both Kethan ’28 and Kriya run ahead. They can’t burst through the doors of the MAC fast enough. Inflatables, popcorn, face painting, a photo booth and more await. We make the rounds. Kethan stays a little closer, as Kriya runs off with her friends. It’s hard to believe Kriya was once a Lower Schooler, now in Middle School and with a blossoming social life. As a 2nd grader, Kethan has many more years left to enjoy the Carnival, and it’s fun to see it evolve each year. Perhaps my favorite part is watching the little ones look up to the Upper Schoolers who lead the activities. This weekend is always filled with those kinds of moments for me, and I hope Kethan and Kriya grow up to become the kinds of role models the Upper School students have been for them.

Philip Ralph ’23 Kavitha Kosuri, mother of Kriya Doshi ’25 and Kethan Doshi ’28

F E A T U R E

A. Philip Ralph ’23 represents his class during the Middle School Pep Rally relays. Photo by Glen Williams.

B. Megan David `25 and Nina Willis `25 hang with friends at the Carnival.

C. Ria Patil `22 and Gretchen Mertz `22 connect during Food Truck Friday.

D. Kendall Work ’18 & Kylie Chen ’19 sport their spirit-wear as they head toward the Homecoming action.

E. Kavitha Kosuri and children Kethan Doshi ’28 and Kriya Doshi ’25 watch the MICDS-JBS Varsity Girls Tennis match.

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22 WINTER 2018 23MICDS

The game’s about to start, and we’ve claimed our places. My boys, Jason ’18 and Kevin ’19, are on the field, and Lauren ’21 will soon wander off with her friends. I’m in my usual spot, next to my mom, Caryl Green Simon ’55, a loyal and lifelong fan of the Rams. As a talented athlete and 1999 inductee into Mary Institute’s Athletic Hall of Fame, it’s safe to say her heart bled green long before red, although now they go hand in hand.

Our family has many a story to tell. In fact, Lauren, along with her triplet cousins, Liam ’21, Sophia ’21 and Morgan Weber ’21, round us out to 25 legacies from our extended family. It’s crazy to think our MICDS roots span nearly 90 years! The campus looks a lot different from the day my grandmother, Caryl “Betty” Rosen (nee King) ’31, first walked Mary Institute’s new campus in 1930. Her class of 1931 was the first MI class to spend their senior year here on Warson Road—and she was the May Queen that year to top it off! After she was crowned queen, her father (my great grandfather) gave her flowers and said, “To my King who is May Queen.” That’s a story I hope my children continue to tell.

As for me, it’s always a nostalgic feeling to walk this campus. It brings back old memories—time spent in chapel, social activities with the boys at Country Day, May Day and graduation. Those moments hold new meaning for me now that I’m a current parent watching my children grow up here, forging stronger friendships with alumni who were classmates and friends and enjoying the way MICDS balances the legacies of the past with present and future needs.

Speaking of traditions, football is a big one in our family. My brothers, Steve Simon ’81 and Ken Simon ’79, played for CDS along with my father, Kurt Simon ’54. And now, my boys. We wouldn’t miss a game, especially in this new stadium and field. What fun! I hope this Homecoming tradition continues long after my three children have graduated. Maybe someday I’ll be like my mom, cheering on my grandsons in this classic MICDS-Burroughs rivalry. And if we win like we did today, 52-0, the tradition will be that much sweeter year after year!

My heart beats along with the pump-up music echoing through the locker room. I look around and see my teammates and coaches. I lift my cleat onto the locker room bench, my helmet resting beside it. While I tighten my shoelaces, Coach Buha gives me a pat on the back as he walks by, clipboard in hand. Having him, Coach Smith and other mentors right beside me all four years has been a blessing—them and the players. They’re the people who’ve made my MICDS experience so special. When I started as a freshman, I looked up to the seniors on the team. They were like big brothers to me. It’s hard to believe I’m in their shoes now.

Water. I can’t forget to drink water to stay hydrated. The music’s still pounding, but now I’m focused. Centering into a meditative state, ready for kick-off.

As the game begins, the energy shifts to the crowd—a roaring sea of red, white and green. The massive Rams Army runs by the field at kickoff, filling the student section with noise and cheers. The Ram lifts his hands to rile the crowd. Louder and louder. And here we go, the 2017 Varsity Football team, ready to take on Burroughs. It’s our first season playing on the turf field with the fans filling up the bleachers of the new stadium. My friends tell me how lucky I am to get to play on one of the best high school football fields in the greater St. Louis area. I agree.

It’s the first quarter of the game. I can hear my name over the loud speaker. “Great catch by MICDS’ #1 Preston Buchanan,” the announcer shouts. “Touchdown, Rams!” I can hardly hear him. It’s time to cheer on our defensive line. Beat the Bombers. That’s the Homecoming mantra.

52-0, Rams—the final score. What a rush. I can’t believe it’s already over. My last Homecoming on this side of the field. Hopefully this time next year, I’ll be on a different field, playing college ball. But for now, it’s time to study. That paper for Mr. Small’s Race and Sports class isn’t going to write itself, and I still have numbers to crunch for my AP Statistics exam next week. College admission essays await too. It’s going by so fast. I better soak up this last chapter of my MICDS career as a student-athlete. It’s been one for the books!

F E A T U R E

Preston Buchanan ’18Chrissy Simon Sugavanam ’85, mother of Jason ’18, Kevin ’19 and Lauren ’21

A. Chrissy Simon Sugavanam `85 and brother Kenny Simon `79 get ready to watch Jason `18 and Kevin Sugavanam `19 take the field.

B. A Country Day School tradition, bagpipers make a resounding entrance at the Pep Rally.

C. Chrissy Simon Sugavanam `85, Kenny Simon `79, Lauren Sugavanam `21, Caryl Green Simon `55, Molly Sims Weber `81, Morgan Weber `21, Liam Weber `21 and Sophia Weber `21 gather as an extended family before the game.

D. Felipe Ferreira ’27 and Teddy Miller ’27 after the shotgun start of the MICDS-JBS Fun Run.

E. Preston Buchanan ’18 wears his enthusiasm before the big game against Burroughs.

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CheerleadingCheering to Victory

The Cheerleading team had a great season cheering the Football team on to victory. They enjoyed celebrating another successful pep rally and bonfire before the John Burrough’s game as well as an exciting postseason run. The team this year was led by co-captains Savannah Lesslie ’18 and Elizabeth Hughes ’18. Seniors Lesslie, Hughes, Tierra Bobo ’18 and Brittney Usoroh ’18 worked hard this season and set a great example for their younger teammates. During the last home game of the year, the girls showcased their philanthropic spirit as they led a group of Lower Schoolers in a halftime show, which was the result of a cheer clinic that raised money to fund chemotherapy treatments for former cheerleader and alumna Lauren Oxenhandler ’05.

Boys Cross CountryA Year of Individual Achievements

MICDS Boys Cross Country finished 2nd overall in the Metro League meet behind a personal record performance of Team Captain Mason Hall ’18, who won the meet on a challenging course to become the individual Metro League Cross Country Champion. Co-Captain Kabir Singh ’19 joined Hall on the award stand with an 8th place finish. This is the second year in a row that Hall and Singh have earned All-Metro Team honors. The upper classmen saw strong scoring support this year from a young squad: Jonah Zacks ’21,Henry Posega Rappleye ’20 and Will Falk ’21 all scored for the MICDS squad behind them on varsity. The team experienced an influx of many new runners this year, and over the course of the season individual times dropped significantly. With that, the team’s growth outpaced league competition from meet to meet. During the Districts race, Hall and Singh both earned medals (for 5th and 13th) and qualified to compete in the State Meet, where Hall placed 45th.

Girls Cross CountryIndividual Growth and Team Building

MICDS Girls Cross Country started the 2017 season with the largest roster in team history (47), which provided many opportunities for achievement. The team was captained by four seniors: Jacqueline Zoeller ’18, Lindsey Royce ’18, Grace Kroeger ’18 and Amelia Love ’18. This season, the team gave everything they had in practice, and improvement throughout the season exemplified that. The girls finished 2nd at the Metro League Conference meet.Palmer Mihalevich ’20, Zoeller, and Simrin Phatak ’21were named to the All-Conference team as well as earned All-District honors. The District Championship was a very competitive meet with the MICDS girls finishing in 3rd place behind Westminster and John Burroughs. At State, Mihalevich earned All-State Honors finishing in 23rd place individually, and Zoeller and Phatak both ran personal best times on the Championship course. Finally, the team awarded Kroeger with their only postseason honor, the Harriet Green award, which is given to the team’s “Most Inspirational” teammate. A well-deserved honor for Kroeger.

Rams RewindF A L L S P O R T S S E A S O N R E C A P S

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#RamNation

MORE ABOUT LAUREN AND THE CHEER CLINIC AT >>magazine.micds.org

26 WINTER 2018

Field Hockey2nd in State!

Field hockey featured a remarkably young team with only five seniors on the roster. They finished their season 18-5-2 with only two losses to area opponents, both in overtime. Their 2nd place State Championship finish ended in a double overtime 1v1 loss to Villa. This year, the team was ranked 13th in the Midwest region by Max field hockey, named Metro League Champion and earned the #1 seed in the Midwest tournament. Highlights of the season were victories over Villa, Cor Jesu (twice) and JBS. Their only St. Louis loss was to St. Joseph’s Academy in overtime. Lou Chalfant ’18 was named Co-player of the year for the Metro League. And Reagan Calcari ’20, Caroline Carr ’20, Mia Duchars ’20, Arden Lilly ’19 and Addie Thomas ’18 were named First Team All-Metro League.

The Field Hockey team proudly showcases their 2nd place trophy.

27MICDS

FootballAn Exciting Postseason Run!

MICDS Varsity Football finished the season with a 9-3 record. During the early weeks of the season, the Rams began to gel on both sides of the ball and ultimately rattled off a six game winning streak before falling to Ladue in the District title game. The season was full of highlights as three players were awarded 1st Team All-Metro Conference honors (Ryan Thompson ’18, Bobby Matthews ’18 and Jayson Love ’18), and an additional six players were awarded 2nd Team honors (Graham Bundy Jr ’19, Jimmy Chalfant ’19, Austin Thompson ’18, Blake Glover ’18, Henry Gillis ’18 and Preston Buchanan ’18).

The Rams finished in 2nd place in the Metro Conference and have only lost one conference game over the last two seasons. Notable games include a thrilling back and forth with Westminster where Bundy Jr. scored in the final minutes to win 38-31, as well as the 52-0 win over John Burroughs during Homecoming Weekend. The program will graduate a number of talented players this spring, however the Junior Varsity and Middle School programs are filled with talented athletes and coaches ready to reload the roster.

Girls Golf3rd at State!

Lady Rams Golf had a great season, their second year in the more competitive Class 2, placing 3rd at State! A major highlight was from Parker Perry ’20 who aced number 15 with a 6-hybrid on the 146-yard Par 3 on day one at Sedalia Country Club. The team’s finish marks the second year in a row earning 3rd and the fifth year in a row taking a team to State. Co-Captain Shannon Gould ’18 capped off her storied career finishing Top 5 all four years at State, led the team to a 32-5 dual match record, helped the team win the Angel Classic for the first time and earned the most medalist honors in recent School history. She was also Metro League Player of the Year three times and All-Conference four years. She’ll resume golfing at the Naval Academy next fall, joining former teammate and MICDS alumna Abby Schroeder ’16. Co-Captain Amelia Schroeder ’18 and Perry earned Metro League First Team honors, and Stephanie Gabel ’18 and Garrett Goltermann ’20 earned Second Team. The team had 19 players on JV and Varsity, the largest group in years, and they will look to advance to State again next season!

Boys SoccerA Hard-Fought Season

MICDS Boys Soccer had another successful season in 2017. Led by Captains Ross Buchman ’18, Jisung Kim ’18 and Sean Smith ’18, the Rams finished with a record of 12-11-1. Kim led a balanced scoring attack with nine goals and four assists, and a strong defensive unit helped the Rams goalkeepers to record nine shutouts. There were many highlights this season, including three consecutive overtime victories over Duchesne, Priory and Parkway West in the span of a week. Unfortunately, the Rams fell to Ladue in a hard-fought District match by the score of 2-1. Throughout the year, the team showed their skill, determination and character against some of the top competition in the area.

# R A M N A T I O N

Girls Golf celebrates a 3rd place win at State.

3rd in State!

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28 WINTER 2018

01. The Cheerleading team captures a shot with the Ram.

02. Kabir Singh ’19 leads the pack during Boys Cross Country Districts.

03. Garrett Goltermann ’20 strategizes her next putt during the Girls Golf State Championships.

04. Co-captain Jacqueline Zoeller ’18 during Girls Cross Country Districts.

05. Running Back Tyler Purdy ’19 sees his opening during the first home game against Lutheran South.

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29MICDS

Boys Swimming and Diving Grannum ’19 Clinches State Championship

The Boys Swimming and Diving team spent the ’17 season in a brand new home, easily the best pool in St. Louis. Captain Hunter Grannum ’19 continued to dominate in his last year of competition in diving for the Rams, breaking team records, going undefeated throughout the duel meet season, clinching the Class 1 State Championship and setting the Class 1 State record. Captain Chris Swanson ’18 led a team that was heavy in underclassmen, and he represented the Rams, finishing top-16 in the 50 Free. A strong and large group of freshmen, including State Championship qualifiers, Jackson Fox ’21, Greg Dreisewerd ’21 and Eric Ji ’21, represent a bright future for the Rams in the upcoming years. At State, Fox, Dreisewerd and Ji all earned top-16 finishes in their individual events, and Ji earned 6th in 100 Backstroke. The Rams’ 200 Medley and 400 Free relays also placed in the top-16, and overall, the Rams tied with Clayton High School for 9th place at the Class 1 State Championships.

The team continues to grow each year as larger incoming freshmen classes look to bring the squad back to healthy numbers. From the board to the blocks, the Rams grow stronger every season. And from the ’17 season, all signs point to a very bright future for the team.

Girls Tennis3rd in Team State/McClain ’19 Takes 2nd!

Rams Tennis had a season that went above and beyond expectations. With only two players returning from last year’s top six singles lineup and seven new faces coming from JV, the Rams were able to make it back to the State tournament and finished 3rd in the Class 1 State team tournament. MICDS lost to eventual State Champion Pembroke Hill Raiders 5-2 in the semifinals. However, the Rams came back to defeat Springfield Catholic 5-2 to capture 3rd place.

This season was a success from the standpoint of team unity, growth and resilience. They showed adversity at the most critical juncture of the postseason when an injury sidelined team captain and #3 singles player Brooke Wright ’18 in the quarterfinal victory over Incarnate Word Academy. Meredith Goldberg ’20 and Sydney Cheaney ’19 held on to win tight matches to punch the team’s ticket to state. Once there, Team Captain Lindsay Parks ’18 helped lead the team to a 3rd place finish by winning all four of her matches at State. Other players with notable wins at State include Alexandra Harris ’18, Abby Lee ’19 and Julia Amato ’18. Caleigh McClain `19 had a memorable finish to State by making it to the finals of the Individual Singles Championship and placing 2nd.

VolleyballA Year of Transition

The 2017 Ram’s Volleyball season ended on a positive note. This was a transition year for both the players and the coach, which made it possible for new relationships to grow as well as player development. Highlights from the season included beating both Parkways and taking Visitation to three games. In addition, Sophia Boyd ’21 was named First Team All-Districts, and Kodi Hayes ’19 was named Second Team All-Districts.

Hunter Grannumm ’19 celebrates his Diving State Championship with coach Andy Balczo

# R A M N A T I O N

Members of the Girls Tennis team sport their medals after winning 3rd place at the Team State Championships.

Girls Volleyball teammates celebrate their Districts win over University City High School.

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30 WINTER 2018

Lower Schoolers Make a SplashWhen the Steward Family Aquatic Center and William R. Orthwein Sr. Pool was built, members of the Steward family had a vision for the new facility—to give children access to water safety skills at an early age. Now that vision has become a reality, as Beasley students are finally getting their chance to splash around during the swim unit in the Lower School’s physical education classes. The 2nd graders were the first from the Lower School to experience first-hand the new Steward Family Aquatic Center and William R. Orthwein Sr. Pool, with the remainder of the grades following. During their time in the shallow end, students learned the fundamentals of swimming—including stroke technique and kicking. Overall, the swimming unit was a big hit and a great way for Lower School students to take their first plunge into the new pool.

“ It was so wonderful having our Beasley students at the Steward Family Aquatic Center! We watched their comfort levels grow every day as they became more confident in the water.” — Khannie Dastgah, Director of Aquatics Programs and Facilities

Steward Family Aquatic Center and William R. Orthwein Sr. Pool Dedication

On August 9, donors, faculty, staff and members of the MICDS community celebrated the dedication of the Steward Family Aquatic Center and William R. Orthwein Sr. Pool. Head of School Lisa Lyle expressed the School’s gratefulness for the Steward and Orthwein families’ commitments to MICDS and aquatics specifically. In addition, several students simultaneously delivered “demonstrations” as part of the event that highlighted the multi-functional capacity of the new pool.

The 27,505 square-foot Steward Family Aquatic Center and 40-meter by 25-yard William R. Orthwein Sr. Pool elevate the swimming and diving and water polo programs as well as the larger community’s use and access to aquatics at MICDS. One of the Steward Family’s priorities for the project was to ensure access to water safety skills at an early age, and Lower Schoolers are now taking advantage of the pool.

Ron Holtman Stadium Dedication

During halftime of the home Varsity Football game on September 17, members of the MICDS community honored beloved Coach Holtman with the dedication of the Ron Holtman Stadium. Head of School Lisa Lyle recounted Coach Holtman’s inspiring coaching and teaching career as well as the impact he made on so many people’s lives during his 50 years at MICDS.

Coach Holtman thanked his assistant coaches, MICDS parents and loyal fans and every young person who has worn the MICDS uniform. He summed up his time at MICDS by saying, “Quite simply, I’ve had the time of my life.”

The Holtman Stadium accommodates 1,000 fans for Football, Soccer and Lacrosse games on O’Hara Field. It includes a new concession/pregame pavilion, press box and team rooms.

Lisa Lyle helps honor Maggie and Ron Holtman at the dedication of Ron Holtman Stadium.

(From left) Nina Orthwein Durham ’61, Abi Durham, Mary Steward, Dave Steward ’95, Thelma Steward and David Steward help cut the ribbon at the dedication of the Steward Family Aquatic Center and William R. Orthwein Sr. Pool

31MICDS

Bold Action2013 - 2018

A C A M P A I G N F O R

We are deeply grateful to everyone who has made a gift to the Bold

Action Campaign thus far. Your gifts support teachers who focus on each

student and help them grow, educational programs that inspire students

to lead lives of discovery and beautiful, state-of-the-art facilities.

32 WINTER 2018

An MICDS “lifer,” Whitney Walker Young ’01 enjoyed a childhood that revolved around MICDS. For Jarrett Young ’01, his MICDS journey began in 7th grade and with an instant love for Codasco football. Little did the two know that MICDS would eventually become the catalyst for a life of happiness. In fact, they’ve been together since Junior Prom in 2000. Now in their 12th year of marriage, Whitney said she still laughs at his jokes. It’s a classic MICDS love story—and not just because they met at MICDS, but also because of their lifelong commitment to the School through annual giving.

The Youngs started giving to the MICDS Annual Fund in 2006, the year they were married, shortly after graduating from Bowdoin. Eleven years later and with two children, Henry and Effie, they’ve continued to make giving a habit, now through a monthly recurring gift program.

Effie, Whitney, Jarrett and Henry Young

Why is philanthropy important to you?

J: I was from North St. Louis and

rode the Bi-State Bus for a period

of time to get to and from school.

I wouldn’t have been able to

attend MICDS had it not been for

the generosity of others giving to

the School.

W: I hope to lessen the struggle for

others who are less fortunate

than me. I give in hope that others

like me will give and that those

who I help will give once they are

financially able.

What influences your decision to give every year?

J: There always existed in the

community at MICDS a willingness

to give when you see a need. I have

felt the power of giving, which

inspires me to give back.

W: My husband’s story inspires me

to give. He would never have

attended MICDS had it not been

for the financial assistance

provided by the School. I saw

his life change. I want to provide

opportunities to others and give

back as a ‘thank you’ to MICDS for

changing his life.

Why is giving back to MICDS important to you?

J: I met my wife here. I’ve stayed in

touch with my former teachers,

and I wouldn’t be who I am

without the education I received.

I value the openness of the

community and the relationships

formed here. All of this brought

meaning into my life.

W: MICDS provided me the ability

to discover my strengths

and passions and grow up

with confidence. I want to

provide others with that same

opportunity.

Why is the Annual Fund the best option for your family?

J: Participation matters and it

all adds up. When a school is

trying to raise funds for larger

initiatives, alumni and parent

participation shows commitment

and value. Doing something small

so that the institution can do

something big is a no brainer.

W: When I was right out of college

and even now, the Annual

Fund allows me to continue to

give in a way that is financially

manageable for us and our family.

W H Y I G I V E :

How MICDS Has Shaped the Youngs’ Annual CommitmentsW H I T N E Y W A L K E R YO U N G ’ 0 1 & J A R R E T T YO U N G ’ 0 1

33MICDS

B O L D A C T I O N : A C A M P A I G N F O R M I C D S

B O L D A C T I O N :

An All-Encompassing CampaignAs we quickly approach June 30, the end of our five-year Bold Action: A Campaign for MICDS, we reflect on the enormous enhancements the Campaign has provided.

The Facilities

McDonnell Hall and Brauer Hall transforms the STEM curriculum and provides space for the entire community to gather. The Steward Family Aquatic Center and William R. Orthwein Sr. Pool elevates our Swimming and Diving and Water Polo programs, provides continued partnership with organizations across St. Louis and allows us to bring aquatics into our physical education offerings. Ron Holtman Stadium provides a spectacular new viewing space for fans to watch Football, Soccer and Lacrosse teams on O’Hara Field, a state-of-the-art turf field that increases usability and decreases maintenance. And Holekamp Stadium gives fans another outstanding way to take in a Track and Field event and watch our exceptional student-athletes compete. Through these additions to campus, in very obvious and visible ways, we are able to physically see the impact of your generous gifts.

The People

Bold Action also impacts areas that are lesser seen—and lesser known, such as gifts to the Faculty Tuition Benefit, Financial Aid and other Endowment priorities. In addition, the Annual Fund remains the most important giving vehicle, as gifts support the School’s annual budget and expenses. And while we can’t always see the impact of these gifts, that doesn’t make them less important. In fact, these giving channels support the heart and soul of this 100-acre campus. They impact the people. And that’s what this last year of the Campaign has been all about—supporting the people who make MICDS such a special place where we cultivate the next generation’s leaders for lives of purpose and service.

“ All gifts—no matter the size—make a big impact on the people who walk this campus every day. We want everyone to be inspired to give to Bold Action, and there is something in this Campaign for everyone.”

Amy McFarland Dove ’85 Director of Development

Quick Facts About Bold Action

5-year $90 million Campaign

Priorities include:

+ Annual Fund

+ STEM

+ Athletics

+ Faculty Excellence

+ Student Access

34 WINTER 2018

When you think about the Bold Action Campaign, you probably think about academic excellence, accelerated athletics and enhanced endowment. But what you probably don’t know are the many other ways the Campaign shapes all corners of our campus—including our facilities and operations. For instance:

1

Students now have easier access to collaborative and faculty mentorship because of the location and structure of the new Faculty Work Center in McDonnell Hall and Brauer Hall and the new Academic Center in the basement of May Hall.

2

McDonnell Hall and Brauer Hall offers twice the square footage for classroom space than the two buildings it replaced.

3

Brauer Auditorium offers the entire Upper School—including faculty, staff and students—a place for all to gather.

4

The solar panels in the McDonnell Hall and Brauer Hall were designed to provide 18% of the building’s energy.

5

The Rainwater Harvesting system in STEM recycles water for the greenhouse and toilet systems in that building.

6

MICDS now has five bio-retention systems across campus.

7

Through the Campaign, we added 18,000 native-Missouri plants and nearly 500 native-Missouri trees campus-wide.

8

The native plants near McDonnell Hall and Brauer Hall significantly reduce the need for irrigation and manicured lawns in that area.

9

Students now benefit from the creation of several outdoor classrooms on campus.

10

8,000-square-feet of porous concrete parking spaces and open vegetation allow for water infiltration and a reduction in contaminants and pollutants.

11

Holekamp Stadium is ADA compliant.

The next time you walk through campus and admire the new facilities, we invite you to think about how the Bold Action Campaign’s commitment to great teaching and learning extends into every square-inch of campus. Thank you for your contributions!

Lesser Known Impacts of the Bold Action Campaign

35MICDS

B O L D A C T I O N : A C A M P A I G N F O R M I C D S

A Tribute to Trudy For faculty and staff who send their children to MICDS, every day is Valentine’s Day. Trudy Valentine, a former MICDS parent, lost her husband in 2002. And after a decade watching teachers support and mentor her own children after the loss of their father, she created the Valentine Family Tuition Support Fund at MICDS, which increases the tuition benefit and allows faculty and staff to send their children to the same place where they’ve invested years of their own time and talent.

“It was incredible for my children to be [at MICDS] during that difficult time,” said Trudy. “They had the opportunity to bond with several teachers who were so important in their lives. Attending a school with teachers who cared for them and helped to raise them was essential. Teachers can do so much to help a child, particularly when they go through difficult and critical times in their lives.”

Because of her generous support, MICDS faculty and staff wanted to say a big “Thank You” to Trudy. So, on October 4, nearly 100 faculty, staff and students gathered in Mary Eliot Chapel to show their appreciation. As Trudy shook hands

and received hugs, thank you cards and drawings from the youngest attendees, faculty and staff shared the profound impact her giving has on their lives.

MICDS Physical Education and Dance Coordinator Summer Beasley described being able to send her daughter, Elika ’30, to MICDS as “priceless.” She added, “Trudy’s gift makes it possible for my child to have an experience and an opportunity my husband and I did not have growing up. Elika’s teachers are my colleagues, and I know firsthand what amazing people they are.They are not only teachers, they are lifelong learners and experts in their fields. MICDS faculty and staff care deeply about each child they teach.”

After the surprise, Trudy shared her delight in meeting with the families she’s impacted when she said, “It really is satisfying to see that teachers are happy and that their children are happy here, too. They are so delighted that their children are getting the quality of education that MICDS is known for.”

SEE THE VIDEO OF TRUDY’S VISIT TO CAMPUS AND THE BIG “THANK YOU” >>magazine.micds.org

“ The most important part of MICDS is its teachers. The teachers here help children discover what their talents are so they can use them as adults. Giving to faculty is a gift that changes lives and ultimately changes the world for the better. It is an honor to play a small part in that.”

— Trudy Valentine, mother of Matthew ’02. Blake, August, Christina Valentine Cammon ’08, John ’11 and Stephen ’14.

Make a Gift to MICDS ... Without Writing a CheckDid you know you can support the Bold Action Campaign without writing a check? It’s easier than you think, and your gift helps carry the School’s legacy forward for future generations.

Quick Facts

30% of the tuition for the children of faculty and staff is covered by the MICDS Tuition Benefit

57 children of faculty and staff are currently enrolled at the School and receive the Tuition Benefit

$140,583 was collectively raised by the 25th Reunion Class of 1992 to establish the “MICDS Class of 1992 Tuition Benefit Fund”

450+ parents, alumni and friends raised $225,000 at the “Red and Green” fundraising event for Faculty Excellence and Student Access, which includes the Tuition Benefit Endowment

The MICDS Bold Action Campaign is coming to a close at the end of this school year. Give us a call so we can explain just how easy it is to pay it forward. That’s the beauty of Planned Giving.

Visit plannedgiving.micds.org to learn more about joining the Eliot & Thompson Planned Giving Society. Or contact Kalleen Rose, Director of Major & Planned Gifts, at 314.995.7422 or [email protected].

Put MICDS in your Will or Trust—and let us know.

Designate a Life Insurance policy, IRA, or other Retirement Plan

to MICDS. All it takes is a Change of Beneficiary form.

Make a gift from your Charitable IRA Rollover—if you’re at

least 70 1/2 years old.

Designate Stock—and avoid capital gains!

Create a Charitable Gift Annuity—make a gift, take a tax deduction

and have the school pay you income for the rest of your life.

Name MICDS in a Charitable Remainder Trust—similar to a

Charitable Gift Annuity in that you receive income from MICDS

for the rest of your life.

Here’s How:

Planned Giving 101Faculty, staff and their children

shower Trudy Valentine with their thanks for the Valentine Family

Tuition Support Fund.



— G A R Y S C H M I D T

“What is a storyteller’s role?

Many people think it should be

to convey truth or justice or beauty.

But the storyteller’s f irst role is

to get the reader to want to turn

the page. That’s how it begins.”

Renowned author Gary Schmidt visited the Middle School as part of its annual Author Visit, where

he engaged with students during assembly and held writing workshops for 7th and 8th graders. Schmidt

is the recipient of both a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

and a Newbery Honor for The Wednesday Wars. He serves as professor of English at Calvin College

in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he has worked for more than 30 years.Gary Schmidt,

Professor and Author

38 WINTER 2018

Class Notes

N E W S F O R M A R Y I N S T I T U T E

A N D S A I N T L O U I S C O U N T R Y D A Y

S C H O O L A L U M N A E A N D A L U M N I

The following pages reflect notes submitted through

October 15, 2017Submit your news for the next issue to:

[email protected] by February 15, 2018.

39MICDS

F O R T H E R E C O R D

Alumnae/i DeathsT H R O U G H N O V E M B E R 2 7 , 2 0 1 7

Florence Noland Baur ’40, November, 26, 2017

Alma Young Connor ’41, June 6, 2017

Cecelia Ramsey Raines ’42, August 16, 2017

Susan Blumeyer Braxton ’44, November 19, 2017

Suzanne Shillington Fell ’45, July 19, 2017

Patricia Vollmer Hotchkiss ’46, October 18, 2017

Charlotte O’Keefe Manassa ’47, May 4, 2016

John T. Clarkson Jr. ’50, November 15, 2017

Lynn R. Henges ’52, November 13, 2017

Jesse S. Myer III ’53, November 21, 2017

Emily Keyes Barksdale ’56, November 23, 2017

Georgann Lutz Kennedy ’57, October 3, 2017

Anne Barker Niehaus ’58, December 19, 2016

Beth Hanser Keigher ’59, October 9, 2017

Andrew J. White ’61, October 9, 2017

Cynthia Danforth Prather ’75, October 11, 2017

Carol Danforth ’77, September 29, 2017

David L. Gardner Jr. ’77, August 27, 2017

Richard W. Metz Jr. ’87, November 2, 2017

Faculty Deaths Patricia Rogers, faculty member

(ceramics and sculpture) from 1948 to 1981

Births and AdoptionsLara Bennett Hacala ´04 and Ryan: Zachary Bennett, August 23, 2017 (photo 02)

MarriagesPhil Henderson ´03 and Katie Gray, September 30, 2017.

Hayden Prescott ´99 and Abigail Csanda, October 2, 2015. (photo 01)

Toby James ´56 and Betty Freeman, September 9, 2017.

W E W E LCO M E T H E FO L LO W I N G C H I L D R E N TO O U R M I C DS FA M I LY.

CO N G R AT U L AT I O N S TO T H E FO L LO W I N G A LU M N I O N T H E I R R EC E N T N U P T I A L S .

O U R D E E P E S T SY M PAT H I E S TO T H E

FA M I L I E S O F A LU M N A E / I W E H AV E LOS T.

Hayden Prescott with his wife, Abigail, on their wedding day at the Sculpture Garden of the Bridgeport Arts Center in Chicago. For their honeymoon they went to Santorini, Greece and traveled throughout the Peloponnesian peninsula.

01

40 WINTER 2018

“Golden Ram” Luncheon50th, 55th, 60th, 65th, 70th, 75th and 80th Reunion Classes

The Log Cabin Club | 11:30 a.m.

25th Reunion Cocktail Reception MICDS Class of ’93

Home of Head of School Lisa Lyle | 6:30 p.m.

MAY

3

50th Reunion Gathering with Lisa Lyle MI and CDS Classes of ’68

Olson Hall Presentation Room | 4:30 p.m.

Reunion Celebration Dinner All Reunion Classes, All Alumni

The MAC | 6:30 p.m. | Cocktails and Buffet Dinner

MAY

4

Campus Tours Olson Hall Presentation Room | 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon

May Day Lilly’s Field | 6:00 p.m.

MAY

5

Join us for 2018 Reunion Weekend Special Reunion Events for Class Years ending in 3 and 8

MAY 3-5, 2018

Reserve your room today!MAY 3-6, 2018

A block of rooms are available for reunion classes at:

Frontenac Hilton | 314.993.1100 | $132.00 per night

G E T T I N G M A R R I E D ? E X P E C T I N G ?

We’d like to help you celebrate, but we can’t print

news about future weddings or babies. When your

plans become reality, please let the Alumni Office

know and we’ll gladly print your news after

the fact, and all share in the excitement!

02

41MICDS

Country Day School Centennial BashOn November 17, nearly 300 members of the community gathered together to celebrate 100 years since St. Louis Country Day School’s founding. Highlights included bagpipers, archival memorabilia, remarks from emcee Steve Hughes `84, a video surprise from Sterling K. Brown ’94, memories from keynote speaker Jack Danforth ’54 and a big surprise from the classes of 1994 and 1995—the returning of the original Country Day School sign, which will be proudly displayed on campus.

At the event, we also announced the CDS Centennial Fund—an opportunity to leave our own legacy and ensure students and faculty experience the same level of excellence for the next 100 years. Help us celebrate 100 more years by making a gift. Visit bit.ly/cdscentennial

MICDS Welcomes Alum Eric Brunt ’02 as MICDS’ New Director of Enrollment ManagementIf there’s an epitome of the MICDS term “lifer,” Eric Brunt ’02 fits the bill. He attended MICDS as a Junior Kindergartner all the way through 12th grade. After a successful college career at Vanderbilt University and early business career as a recruiter in Washington, D.C., Eric was presented the opportunity to move his family back home to St. Louis and the chance to make his mark as a member of the MICDS Admission team. In fact, it was a phone call and push from Athletic Director Josh Smith—Eric’s Upper School advisor, math teacher and football coach—that swayed him to apply for the position at his alma mater. And what a great decision that was—for both Eric and MICDS.

For nearly eight years, Eric has been a leader on the admission team, serving as associate director of admission for both the Upper and subsequently Middle School, while serving in leadership roles for the School’s ISACS Self-Study and 2015-2022 Strategic Planning process. And that’s not all—he also coached 7th grade football for seven years—evidence that it’s true what they say: At MICDS, you really can pursue your passions.

During his tenure, Eric has become a pro at engaging prospective families and welcoming them into the MICDS community. Concurrently, the world of independent school admission has also changed, and with that change has come an increasing need for what is formally called “enrollment management.” Leading that charge at MICDS—Eric Brunt.

We sat down with Eric to ask him a few questions about his new role as director of enrollment management and how he plans to make further waves for the betterment of the MICDS community.

F O R T H E R E C O R D

01

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW ON THE "INSIDE MICDS" BLOG >>info.micds.org/blog

SEE MORE PHOTOS AND RECAP VIDEOS FROM THE CDS CENTENNIAL >>micds.org/page/cds-centennial

42 WINTER 2018

01. Brian Thomas and Lisa Lyle pose with the Ram.

02. Dick Grote ’63 and Sam Martorelli reconnect with Ron Holtman .

03. Peter Griffin ’69 and Cliff Saxton ’64.

04. Jeff Giles ’94 and Charlie Allen ’73 reminisce with long-time faculty member Nadia Danett.

05. Virginia Howell ’83, John Gillis ’85, Linda Hunter and Matt Essman.

02

03 04

05

43MICDS

1 9 3 6 _

1 9 5 8Class Notes

1936 MI

Georgia Simmons Pierpont writes: “I’ve come to the sad realization that I am just too old to make it to my 80th Reunion at MICDS. I know all of you would be most helpful, and I am very disappointed, but at almost 98 years I must be realistic. I enjoyed my 75th Reunion so much and have many happy memories. I loved my years, and my education, at Mary Institute—more than I can say. It was a valuable part of my life. The caring teachers gave me the greatest gift of all, a love, indeed almost a lust, for learning. I’ve had a very happy life raising a large, and I hope, a happy family. I also did a great deal of environmental and clinic volunteer work. Happy memories there, too! Have a great Reunion event. Thank you all for keeping me in the ‘loop.’”

1953 CDS

LEWIS BETTMAN

The problem with writing about octogenarians is there are rather few left about whom to write. I estimate we are down by well over 30 percent from the 33 of us who graduated some 64 years ago. In the last couple of years, we’ve lost Peter Nathan and Jimmy Singer. We also lost Jack Gilmore and most recently, Jesse Myer. Our condolences go out to their families and friends.

Joe Hahn has written a book entitled Hitchhik-ing Through Europe, which tells of Joe’s travels through a number of countries while a student. He did so on the princely sum of $700.

Marshal Backlar and Nathalie have been travel-ing extensively recently to Machu Picchu as well as to Barcelona, Provence, Gascony, Loire and Paris. Marshal continues to coach new business executives on how to succeed. He also continues to do pro bono work with nonprofit organiza-tions.

Warner Isaacs continues his work with Stifel and reminds us that our 65th reunion is next year. Stokley Towles’ son Amor was in town to sell and autograph his highly regarded book, A Gentleman in Moscow. And finally, yours truly continues to work at Raymond James.

1954 MI

From Susan Spoehrer Elliott: “We moved out of our house of 44 years this past summer and are now at the Gatesworth. It was a staggering task, but we are thrilled that we have accomplished it. We are now in Florida. All the best.”

From Jean D’Oench Field: “Classmates, thanks for your calls. We were scared expecting a category four hurricane and were so lucky! Most of our problems are small repairs and lots of cleanup with two yards to take care of. With all the rain, the denuded trees are already pushing out new growth. We hope you were spared as well. My birthday was pleasant, though subdued as we were all worn out! We celebrated getting our power back as well as TV, internet and A/C. Chris is getting things done in France, and I am progressing with my list, too.”

1956 MI

ROBYN ROESSLER [email protected]

My classmates always marvel at what a close-knit group we are. Nothing proved it more than the summer of 2017. Nancy Green Maune lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, and I believe the protests there were the first of the summer’s troubling events. Several of us called Purp and found that she lives far enough away from town so she was not really affected. She was fully aware of the chaos going on nearby, however.

Priscilla Hocker Claman wrote to see how our Florida friends were doing. As Hurricane Irma was advancing to Florida, Naples resident Susie Fischer Yoder was planning her get-away. Her daughter, Ginny ’81, flew from her home in Oklahoma City to Florida to get Susie and Greta the Wonder Dog out of harm’s way. They were in the massive traffic jam going up the state but 29 hours later were safe and sound in St. Louis. Priscilla and Victor’s grandson is a freshman at the University of Miami, and he caught a flight out the Thursday before the storm hit. Priscilla is working very little now, and they spent the entire summer on the Cape. I hope Vero Beach resident Suzie Butler Wonham was still in the Adiron-dacks when Irma arrived.

Andrea Maxwell Platz tells me that she had the busiest summer in decades. “On August 5, my second oldest grandson, Colin Emrich, was the first grandchild in our family to be married, at a beautiful farm near Grand Rapids, Michigan.” And one of the happiest “breaks” in her summer schedule was the overnight she and George spent at Nick and Nancy Noland Kurten’s Redtail Farm on the night before the eclipse. They were returning from a brief vacation in Tennessee, and “kind of invited ourselves to view the eclipse from Sullivan! Nancy and Nick were, as always, the perfect hosts, and we enjoyed so much meeting their son, Bo, and two of his friends.”

In St. Louis we had a nearly perfect viewing of the eclipse, but so did Ellen Armstrong Wallace and Carolyn Frank Henges, who spend their summers in Idaho. Nancy Buford Ream report-ed, “There’s the usual thick summer marine layer (fog) over the Bay Area of San Francisco. I plan to watch the event on television.”

Mary Morey Bradley and I wondered where Las Vegas resident Kay Lungstras Welsh and John were during the tragic shootings in their city. A quick email to Kay elicited this response: “Thank you for your concern. John and I are in Las Vegas and are fine. We arrived out here the Thursday before the shooting from the Cape. We were asleep when the whole thing happened! John and I do not know anyone who died, but some of our grandchildren do, especially the older ones who live in California.”

Blanche Myer called one day while Ellen, Julie, Jody Noel Dietz and I were playing Mah Jongg. She didn’t know she was going to hit the jackpot and didn’t have enough time to talk to all of us. When we finally caught up, she said her back is improving. Being the athletic and goal-oriented (not the hockey kind any more) person she is, she follows her physical therapy plan, swims daily and is doing well. I, Robyn, have reinvented myself as a modern day Madame Defarge, knitting lap robes for Missouri Veterans Endeavor, a facility for homeless veterans in the St. Louis area, where Ellen’s son, Bill Wallace ’78, is president.

Andrea brought up the matter of our age saying, “I turned 79 in August, and I have a feeling a lot of us are turning 79! (Well, not Priscilla or Serena!) Happy birthday to us all, and didn’t someone at our 60th reunion suggest an 80th birthday party? I’d offer our farm in Three Oaks, Michigan, but

44 WINTER 2018

1 9 3 6 _

1 9 5 8Class Notes

you all are probably thinking London or Paris, right?” Turns out Andrea was right. Most of us will turn 80 in 2018. I hope someone will step up and organize something involving party hats, cake and candles!

1956 CDS

Christopher Layton writes: “Where so many have lost so much, Adele and I and our small town have survived the fires. Other than the mandatory heart-stopping evacuation orders at 2 a.m., the very bad smoke-filled air and the extreme anxiety, we made it through just fine. We will celebrate our 48th wedding anniversary as a second run at marital bliss. Thanks also for your keeping in touch. Really want to preserve happy memories of friends in St. Louis. Hope to see you at the next reunion.”

1957 MI

MARGOT MARITZ [email protected]

Pat Doughton Anderson writes: “We spent most of the month of September in our condo in Breckenridge, Colorado. We were so lucky to have been there when Hurricane Irma went only 15 miles from Longboat Key. On September 16, my youngest son got married in Frisco. He and his fiancé rented a house for all of their immediate family to stay together. It was wonderful being with all three of my children. In November, we went to Dallas to celebrate my husband, Jim’s, 80th birthday so all of his three children, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren could be there.”

1958 MI

Libby Hall McDonnell writes: “Ladies—a re-minder! Our 60th Reunion is coming up (egads)! Please save the dates of Thursday, May 3 (lunch and dinner) and Friday, May 4 (dinner), 2018. We will inform you of the details soon— and hope everyone will try to make it!”

1958 CDS

DAN B. [email protected]

Hugh Bartlett and Jane wrote in from Page, Arizona, on Lake Powell, just down from the North Rim. Then they were heading toward Albuquerque for the Balloon Festival. Hugh says he has never done the hot air ride before and not too old to start!

Chris Bent has now finished his 12th book, 1-800-CALL-TO-ARMS. All were written for his daughters and wife so thoughts and feelings would be passed on. He states, “We grandparents end up being smiley face pictures on some wall or certificates in some office.” He also is building the “SEALs For Christ” website. Chris comments that he has become a wordsmith thanks to our English class frustrating him. He closes by saying “Godspeed, my silent friends.”

Frank Elliott and Karen toured Ireland this summer with their youngest daughter, Julie, who did all the driving and selected all of the many Guinness water holes. Frank reports it was an exceptional experience for all of them.

Bud Hirsch and Marian’s grandson, Jake ’17, graduated from MICDS last spring and is now at the University of Dayton in their sports manage-ment program and on the football team’s student staff. Granddaughter Anna ’20 will continue competing in Level 10 Women’s Gymnastics, her third year at this top level. Bud recently traveled to New Zealand and also Spain on photographer trips. In between, he and Marian took a trip to the Carolinas and got out before Irma hit. His fifth poetry collection is Bodies in the Creek, which, along with his other four poetry books, is available at http://hirschwrites.com. Also on this site are links to his photographic images and other material.

Bill Kelley and Judy were in Illinois as they watched carefully as Hurricane Irma approached their home on Hilton Head Island. Bill says there was lots of water at Hilton Head but nothing remarkable at Windmill Harbour. He had to move the horses from their barn all the way up to Virginia—and back! The bridges to Hilton Head were closed. Most people evacuated.

Geoff McClelland is doing well with his bionic knee.

Benny Miller had much fun the Saturday of Homecoming Weekend as he watched his grandson in the 52-0 win over JBS. He was joined by Jim Clarkson, Rich Nelson, Lou Goldring (whose adorable granddaughter cheers for the team) and others he says he might not have seen in the large Holtman Stadium. It reminded him of watching our parents and grandparents doing the same from his seat on the bench. Benny says, “Best to all!”

Sparky Ravenscroft says, “I’ve finally dragged my wife out of Paris. She thinks she’s French. I know I’m American. We’ve settled back in Washington. Washington? Maybe I don’t want to be American. Anyway, it was a good run, and now I’ll find out what the next chapter will be. Hope you’re all having a good run, yourselves.”

Charlie Valier had been in Charlevoix all summer. He and Patsy were leaving for Budapest to cruise the Danube with Dick Engelsmann ’57, Diane Buhr, John Hall ’61 and Bethy. Charlie’s latest article on Bingham was published in July by the Missouri Historical Review. Charlie says his middle daughter, Nicky, has a cottage 100 yards from them. Her daughters are in school at The Latin School and Sacred Heart in Chicago. Nicky’s youngest daughter, Marin, was class detur in 7th grade. Charlie’s younger daughter, Stephanie, is a brand manager for Church and Dwight. Her older daughter is in 1st grade at Princeton Day School.

David Hanks organized the exhibition “Partners in Design” for the Stewart Foundation in Montre-al, which was the last stop on its international tour. This exhibition traced the introduction of mod-ernism in the United States, c. 1930, through the efforts of Alfred H. Barr, Jr., the first director of The Museum of Modern Art, and Philip Johnson, the museum’s first curator of architecture. The “partners” organized “Modern Architecture” in 1932 and “Machine Art” in 1934—two of MoMA’s most significant early design exhibitions.

45MICDS

1 9 5 9_

1 9 6 0Class Notes

1959 MI

SHEILA MORRIN [email protected]

Our class is extremely sorry to have lost our dear classmate Beth Hanser Keigher in October. Beth was an outstanding athlete, successful professional woman and an active advocate for children and social justice in many organizations in Rochester. She was a loving mother to her son and daughter, Jono and Tracy. Sandy Doughton Chapin writes, “Beth was a good and loyal friend. It is difficult to accept that she is no longer doing her own thing as well as organizing the world within her sphere. She will be missed by many.”

Lisa Strelinger Beckers: “Once again the ‘Trea-sure Coast’ of Eastern Florida dodged the bullet! However, I am writing this from St. Louis where I, in my cowardice, escaped to when I saw that mon-ster coming toward us in Stuart. I am so thankful that Irma spared us but feel so badly for those who experienced the brunt of her fury. I am having a wonderful time visiting all my St. Louis family. Thanksgiving week, I was in Orlando with my two sons and granddaughter— poolside with a good book at our rental house. Blessings to you all!”

Molly Macon McHenry: “I lived in New York City, married a portrait photographer, an identi-cal twin, from Dayton, Ohio, with three children and have lived in Houston, Texas, for about 40 years . He came to Houston because he was very close to his sister who was married to James A. Baker, former Secretary of State. I acquired two daughters and a son in the process and then we had a daughter, Katie. We have eight grandchil-dren in Oregon and only wish they were here in Houston where we could see them more often. Jerry has health problems so we don’t travel any more. Blessings to one and all.”

Margaret Cardwell Higonnet: “My little sister, Lucy ’62, has just been here with me, now relying on a cane or ‘rollator,’ as her ALS progressively destroys her nerves and muscles. Lucy is amaz-ingly honest about confronting the rapid loss of mobility, and yet continues her work for the state of Maryland against fraud of various kinds. We have visited our daughter, Ethel, in Washington, where she works on environmental issues. I’ve been busy with two large projects, one an inter-

national project exploring the history of ‘realism,’ and the other working as president of FILLM, a federation of societies studying languages and literatures, under the aegis of UNESCO.”

Sally Curby Johnston: “Of My two grandchil-dren, graduates of MICDS, one is a senior at Chapman University in California, while the other graduated from Elon in North Caroli-na, worked two years in New York and is now working at The Muny in St. Louis. I have three granddaughters at Burroughs, and their older sister is a sophomore at SMU. My four-year-old grandson is at Community. One dancing grand-daughter was in the ensemble of Little Mermaid and Chorus Line at The Muny this summer.”

Jeannie Hamilton Pearman: “I am in Ensenada, Mexico, where I come almost every month and have for two years for stem cell injections not allowed in the U.S.( by the FDA).The stem cells here come from the University of Munich and are the strongest in the world, made when the egg and sperm meet to form a fetus. You are given an injection of millions of them, and they cure you, or at least alleviate your pain. My aim in life is to allow this treatment in the United States.”

Anne Scherck Morrison and Alan moved from a four-floor townhouse to a two-bedroom apartment in July. They spend as much time as possible at their house in the Poconos with their Brooklynite daughters, Nina and Becky, and their families. A highlight of the summer was a visit from her French “brother” and his wife. She lived with his family during her junior year at Smith 56 years ago. She continues her rewarding work with Friendship Place, helping homeless and formerly homeless participants prepare for and find jobs.

Quinta Dunn Scott: “We watched the eclipse in Grand Island, Nebraska, which we could have watched in our own backyard. We were on our way to California to see Barrie’s son, Kendall, then to Eugene, Oregon, to see grandson Ian and then to Portland to see grandson Alex and great-grandchildren. We then drove east through the Columbia River Gorge. We also visited the headwaters of the Missouri, where the smoke from wildfires is strong enough to be unhealthy. Then on to Yellowstone and the Tetons. In the meantime, I continue work on the Ozarks.”

Carol Jacobs Montag wrote that she had a great catch-up phone call with Cindy Wattenberg

Berg earlier in the summer. Cindy is in great health now after some issues have been resolved. “Keep strong and healthy, Cindy, or as my doctor says, stay vertical! We reviewed our lives over the past several years. Cindy sounded so filled with joy. She had a visit from Janet Beeler Nesin and Carolyn Wilson who had travelled to Michigan to see Janet’s mother.” Carol has a new grandson as of February 16, 2017. Charlie Samuels joins his brother, Henry, who turned 2 in early September. Life in Chicago continues to be wonderful and filled with more events and activities than anyone can attend. Our thoughts are with all of our class-mates who are in Houston and Florida.

Carolyn Wilson ’59

Sheila Morrin Humphreys: “My women’s Yosemite High Country Hike was cancelled because of forest fire this July for the first time in 30 years! We spent seven weeks this summer in our small house in Maine, where I spent most of my time gardening and kayaking. Our neighbor, Kitty Norcross Wheeler ’57, and I met often to discuss our recollections of our mothers, Helen Morrin and Emily Norcross ’26, who were very close friends. Mike and I also joined our son, Ben, and his 13-year-old, Wendy, at Eatons’ Ranch near Sheridan, Wyoming, for a few days of riding. We spent a happy evening with Jack Pelissier, hus-band of our classmate Sophie Shepley Pelissier, and Sophie’s son and daughter, Peter and Susie. Peter, a vet in Sheridan, is my godson. Since our son moved with his family from Boston to work at Washington University Medical School, we are pleased to come often to St. Louis, opening the door for me to catch up with friends.”

1959 CDS

Bill Spencer reports: “Sue and I spent a few weeks in late June/early July exploring more of

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Iceland with our Icelandic friends. First, they invited us to their “59/50 Party,” where 125 of their family and friends celebrated them both turning 50 years old. Then they took us exploring the Western Fiords where few tourists go—single lane dirt roads with geysers, waterfalls, rugged coastlines, puffins, whales, fresh seafood and thermal hot tubs in each tiny village. We also enjoyed riding their beautiful horses again.”

Henry Massie writes: “I have a new book to report, which I am proud of and contributed a preface. It is Children of Chateau de La Hille by Sebastian Steiger, previously only available in the original German and in French. The book was passed on to me two years ago to arrange the English translation and publication. It is Steiger’s memoir of the years when, as a young Swiss teach-er, he volunteered at La Hille, a refuge during World War II in the south of France for 100 Jewish children whose parents were sent to death camps. I am also winding down my psychiatric practice in Berkeley, California. My wife, Bridget Connelly, and I get immense pleasure from our daughter, Kate, who just went to work as an attor-ney for the city of Oakland, California, and from picking up granddaughter Felice from school.”

1960 MI

GAY ARMSTRONG [email protected]

As I write this column, much of my beloved Northern California is going up in flames. The devastation is unbelievable and the effects of so many fires are being felt here in the Bay Area. And yet I cannot seriously complain. I have friends who have lost their homes, members of their families, their pets, their livelihood.

Roberta Bartlett Logan experienced first-hand what it was like to be out of her home for six harrowing days not knowing if there would be anything left to come home to after the fire. Fortunately there was, and as happens after cataclysmic events like this, one’s perspective on what’s important in life undergoes a major shift. We are so grateful Roberta is safe and sound.

Mother Nature seems to be having a bad summer. Patsy Kline Hall writes of the herculean efforts to extract her son, Kirk, and his fiancée, Cara, from the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas after Hurricane Irma. She and her hubby, Dick, inhabit a part of Florida that is another favorite target of the hurricane gods! Ever mindful of photo ops, our Patsy headed off to photograph mountain goats and wild flowers in Colorado but wisely cancelled the trip to the Smokey Mountains due to thunderstorms. Patsy, the colored leaves will be there next year and meanwhile, you can display your amazing photographs in that new Main Street Gallery that has wisely signed you up! While on a whirlwind trip to St. Louis, Patsy was able to see Lucy Schmitz Morros and Charlotte Johansen Hamilton briefly.

Hurricanes can’t stop our Carol Willis Clifton, who survived intact while the weather gods managed to hang on to a few trees and most of the golf course as well. Minnesota is in the rear view mirror for her family, most of whom have gotten the message that warm is better, so they’ve moved to Florida.

Another survivor of Mother Nature is our DeeDee Kessler Ostfeld. She and hubby, David, and German Shepherd Gus are currently living in a lovely rental house. Why? Well, 3-4 feet of filthy staph-infected water in every room of your own home discourages occupancy. Hurricane Harvey was the culprit in this one. Now the battle with FEMA begins. Scavenging through the debris, DeeDee came across a picture of our Senior Day performance. Enjoy! Hang tough, Deeds.

I think that may wrap up current classmate horror stories for the time being. Our Jan Schonwald Greenberg writes that it is a challenge juggling the parts of her life so that nothing falls. The various juggling balls in the air are: travel more with Ronnie and include Diego, her dog, spend more time with grandkids, play better bridge (note to Susan Glaser Rainish, she needs bridge lessons, and since you are the acknowledged champ in this area, it’s up to you!) and write more books! Oh Look! She just pub-lished another one: Meet Cindy Sherman/ Artist,

Photographer, Chameleon. Jan writes glowingly of Jill Evans Petzall’s gallery opening of her interactive photographic exhibition, “Still Lives with Stories.” Jan attended along with Charlotte Johansen Hamilton and Lucy Schmitz Morros, all of whom seemed to have a marvelous time and looked amazing as well. The installation will remain through January of next year.

Michigan saw the annual reunion of Liz Curtis Allen’s sprawling family again this year. Recently, Liz reminded me of how Mr. Beasley marched us out of chapel one day for wearing “outlandish” dress. Goodness knows what that meant—prob-ably pants. Liz saw Sandie Peterson Kirkbride’s husband Roger, and her daughter, Stacey ’90, for dinner when Stacey came to town this summer.

Lucy Schmitz Morros is carrying on her involve-ment with the Alliance Française de St Louis. Lucy likes to point out that their wonderful new building has finally been paid for and completely renovated. Our Lucy is a capital campaign manag-er of the highest order. Not only did she manage to get her new Alliance building renovated, but she went off to Paris to teach them how to man-age their capital campaigns as well. I’m sure you all remember Lucy’s little sister, Ellen Schmitz Livingston ’61. Well, after decades in Washing-ton D.C. and London, she has decided to come back to St, Louis and has settled down on Skinker Blvd., just a stone’s throw from Lucy.

Even though Leanne Abramson Schneider never read Anne of Green Gables as a child, she and Harvey decided to motor coach through the Canadian Maritimes. She waxed positively poetic about the lighthouses, the cattle and the rolling hills on Prince Edward Island. Leanne says they were so inspired by the beauty of the area that they rented the movie. Their grandkids and their accomplishments continue to be a big part of Leanne and Harvey’s life.

Barbara Berkley Salsich writes that she and Pete are staying busy. How could it be otherwise with a blended family of six children and 21 grandchil-dren? A lot of the women in her family are doing well and either just got married or are working

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in California. Our Barbara, who looks about 45, is now a great-grandmother by default since Pete’s granddaughter just produced an offspring. Congrats, Barbara!

The ever elusive Madelon Sprengnether announces her retirement from the University of Minnesota. She hasn’t cleaned out the office yet but is working on a new book, Mourning Freud, to be published in 2018. Madelon is also a “blogger” on “Psychology Today,” and her latest is, “Who’s Afraid of Nuclear War?” She may be retired, but she’s not stopping apparently. The good news is that she has more (almost) free time to come to reunions!

Our pianist and composer classmate, Sarah McDowell, continues to musically comfort and entertain many folks by volunteering to play at church and at various nursing homes. As an Amtrak host for 10 years, Sarah was uniquely qualified to host a 15-member family excursion from Denver to Glenwood Springs for a little R&R and rafting on the Colorado River.

Caro Smith Schneithorst writes through James that she is grateful for the education she received at MI, which prepared her, as she says, “for life on life’s terms.”

Our real estate maven, Carol Lee Thomas Ruik-ka, keeps threatening to retire from the business, but has she? Nope, still hanging on after 45 years. If you’re considering a move in her direction, go now. She may actually pull the plug, and you’ll miss out on the Classmate discount.

As for me, last June, my grandson, Cameron, and I spent a month volunteering at Wildtraks, an animal rescue, rehab and release facility in Belize. Their main focus is on primates, specifically Spider and Howler monkeys rescued from the pet trade or habitat loss and manatees injured by boat strikes or babies separated from their mothers. I worked in the Howler monkey nursery caring for four little babies. At the end of August, I was called back to be the caregiver for one very damaged little monkey, Franklin. For 12 hours a day, he and I wandered through the jungle, sat in the sun gently “grooming” each other or taking small walks to strengthen his legs. When I left af-ter six weeks, he was happy and healthy. Leaving

was very hard. Will I return a third time? Yes. But meanwhile, I look forward to visiting my homies in St. Louis once again, spending time with my family and doing the volunteer work that I love at the California Academy of Sciences.

Gay Armstrong Bryson ’60 and Franklin

Senior Day, Mary Institute, 1960

Jan Schonwald Greenberg ’60, Charlotte Johansen Hamilton ’60, Jill Evans Petzall ’60 and Lucy

Schmitz Morros ’60.

1960 CDS

Greg Gettle is nearing six years working as a volunteer in the Infusion Center at St. Luke’s Hospital in Saint Louis, a job he dearly loves.

1961 MI

CHARLOTTE MASTIN [email protected]

Diane Metz survived Hurricane Irma just fine, thanks to the very safe retirement center that Richard and she now call home. The day (Sunday) was rainy, windy and noisy, as you can all imagine. They are on the same power grid as the nearby hospital, and the power was restored in 28 hours. She says she will really relax when hurricane season is officially over.

Pam Willhite Finch moved in April to Brookdale Creve Coeur Senior Living. She reads to Mt. Zion preschoolers three days a week and sings with the Junior League Nightingales. Over the last 10 years, she has sewn more than 800 jumpers for little girls in Nicaragua for St. Michael’s mission trips. Her most exciting news is that, in September, she became great grandma to Althea Grace.

Hadley Hesse Wood retired in May 2016 after 48 years of teaching. She has been doing a bit of travel (New Zealand, Dominican Republic and Mexico) in 2017. She has a lot more scheduled for 2018. She continues painting, writing and playing music as well as going to plays and baseball. Add friends in the mix, and she has a busy and satisfying life.

Nancy Smith Johnson has moved to the semi-ru-ral small town of Azle, Texas, which she really loves. She spends her time gardening and volun-teering at her church and the community care center of Azle. She is learning what deer won’t eat.

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Claudia Geyer Thompson turned 75 recently, and the best thing about it was spending it with her one and only grandchild, Lila Cummins.

Claudia Geyer Thompson ’61 with her grandchild, Lila Cummins. Carolyn Corvey Cranston just returned from an Alaskan cruise and recommends it to those who have not seen the many wonders, both fauna and flora, that still abound in America.

Mary (Donetta) Hannegan McMillan has also been doing a lot of traveling. She drove to Cold Spring, Kentucky for the baptism of her great-great nephew. There were a couple of trips to Alexandria, Virginia—for Easter with her son and his family and then back in May for grandparents’ day at her granddaughter’s school. In July, she drove to her daughter’s in Illinois, and the two of them came to St. Louis for Antiques Roadshow. In August, she drove again to Alexandria and joined her daughter-in-law, her mother and her granddaughter for a three week trip to the Canadian Maritimes. Now she says it it time to relax and catch up on reading.

Claire Foster Evans wrote from Australia where she was attending the wedding of her granddaughter, Capen Evans, who married Will Stanham of Camden Park, Australia. She has 12 grandchildren ranging in age from 1 to 26 and one great grandchild. In May, she and Marshall celebrated their 50th anniversary by taking their four children and spouses to the Loire Valley in France on a Backroads biking trip. They spend their summers in Vail, Colorado, spring and fall in Atlanta and winter in Vero Beach, Florida. She is on Facebook and Instagram and would love to hear from everyone.

I, Charlotte Mastin Ellis, am still working in the library at Washington University. I think this is my 47th year. My daughter, Cynthia, got married

two years ago and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. My most recent trips have been to visit her. I am active in several organizations, and my church. I sing in a women’s chorus. My only grandchild is Chico, my little terrier mix, that Cynthia left with me because her husband is allergic. I read when I have time and go to lots of movies.

1962 MI

Lisa Pettus Hamilton says: “Still living by the beach in Solana Beach, California. Still surfing, still planning to ski this winter—I hope. My granddaughter, Brighton Hamilton (8), can out-ski me any day.”

1962 CDS

John Primm writes: “Living in Hua Hin, Thailand, and teaching English as a Second Language (ESL).”

1963 CDS

JOSEPH A. CAMPAGNA [email protected]

Joe Campagna is writing this at the last minute because he only heard back from folks at the last minute. Must be the way things are! It’s great that, after all these years, we still get together.

David Elliott and Ollie Hickel are one example; they are still working on getting together in New Hampshire. David’s daughter, Kathryn, has been accepted to the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications in Syracuse, New York, and is on a club field hockey team.

Rush Shapleigh saw Ollie Hickel at a gathering hosted by David Deibel ’64 and also gets togeth-er with Jay Hensley and Barb in Florida, especial-ly in the winter. Rush also seems to have an annual fishing trip in Florida with George Diehr. Proof of Rush with the catch is included.

Does anyone remember the song “Beep, Beep...” (1958) by The Playmates? John Kittner lived it while competing in an SCCA Road Race, getting passed by a VW more than once. John, you can strike that off your Bucket List.

Speaking of age-inappropriate activities, Don Smiegiel took an insane rafting trip down the Gauley River in West Virginia.

Those who didn’t respond are just resting up for the 55th Reunion...Joe expects there will be more mini reunions between now and when you read this...visiting Rush, Jay and Ollie in Florida seems like a good short term Bucket List item, especially in late February/early March when it’s still nasty in Pa. The other item on his Bucket List is launching Villages of Tiny Homes for homeless veterans, at least one of which will be located on a working organic farm. Check it out at www.yellowwolfadvocacyproject.com

Rush Shapleigh ’63 with a big catch on an annual fishing trip in Florida.

1964 MI

JANE [email protected]

ANNE STUPP [email protected]

We, your Class Agents, are slowly getting used to the new Class Notes schedule (we missed our last deadline), but we promise to be more organized going forth. We have each heard from several of you, as follows:

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First and foremost is our Class President, Barbara Baur Dunlap. She has been to St. Louis frequently from Arizona over the past few years to be with her mother, Florence Noland Baur ’40, who has been unwell. Sadly, Mrs. Baur died on November 25, and we thought you’d want to know.

Classmates from the South submitted their news:

Debby Roulhac Poitevent wrote from New Orleans “Not much has changed except I have moved to a condo. It’s a great location—on St. Charles Avenue in the Garden District. Because of his Parkinson’s, Eads continues to live at Poydras Home—a fabulous place run by a board of women (only) and in existence for 150 years! Our children are fine as are all my siblings. I continue to run the store with my kids as well as my private practice for clinical social work. It’s an odd combination, but it works for me, and I love doing both!”

Further north—in Arkansas—Jacky Israel Blakeslee stated, “Pete finally retired last Janu-ary, and we have been traveling a lot visiting with our family. With nine grandkids, we have many events to attend. We have three in college. The Great Aunt Kath (Kathie Israel Starnes) helps with this. All were in Colorado this summer for the 4th of July. We just returned from Minneap-olis where Pete competed in a U.S. Racquetball tournament. I am continuing to take art lessons and am really enjoying producing masterpieces.”

Speaking of Colorado, Cherie Hagnauer Pautler claims she and Jane Cox watched the eclipse together. The former couldn’t find any eclipse glasses so the latter sent her a pair. They talked as the moon overtook the sun. Cherie’s son, Dan, had a go at the glasses, too.

Way south in Florida, we have ’64 girls on both coasts. Noel Volkman Cooke wrote, “James and I really have nothing new to report. We still live on John’s Island in Vero Beach, Florida. We spent a month during September and October renting a farm house/villa in Tuscany—gorgeous food, countryside and wine! We’re just two old happy retired folks living in paradise!”

Our class actress and “Energizer Bunny,” Punkin Hirsch (aka Carolyn Michel) says, “I just completed shooting a short film, KATIA, in

which I play a drinking, smoking Cossack Rider in a European Circus circa 1970. Also, I recently played Daisy in Driving Miss Daisy in Florida and in New Hampshire. I have travelled with my wonderful husband, Howard Millman (who happily recovered from a heart issue last spring, and at 86 years young, directed a play in New Hampshire again this summer), to the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston Salem where I was asked to act in a reading. Howard and I will be honored in March by the Salvation Army for our humanitarian work in the community, which is lovely and humbling.”

From Dunedin, near Tampa, Cindy MacDonald Gamblin reports that she survived the hurricane. Being without power for four days, her food-stuffs, hiding in the fridge and freezer, did not!

In Canada, we find Mimi Ferriss Wilson, who has sent updates about her family. She says, “My son, Andrew (43), has been married 10 years to Ros, and they have three boys. Andrew is in fi-nance, and they have recently moved to Toronto. Cliff (41) is married to Melany, and they have a 2-year old daughter, Emma, born on Mimi’s birth-day. They live in Anchorage, Alaska. Katie (39) lives in Brooklyn and works at Guttman College in Manhattan, where she teaches public health and sociology. Rosie (37) has been married five years to Nathan, and they have a 14-month-old toddler, Silvan. They live in northern California on a ranch. My husband, Bruce, had a major stroke in 2004 and has been unable to work. He has developed several medical conditions in addi-tion to chronic fatigue. But he has a boat docked on the Ottawa River, which keeps him busy. I vol-unteer in several church and community settings, walk and do deep-water aquafit and make cloth activity/quiet books for my grandchildren.”

Not to be overlooked (heading south to Ken-tucky) is Josie Pettus Wiseman who took time from a huge house renovation project to email her news. They had to replace all the windows in their 29-year old house. She says it’s most unnerving. With all that is going on in Kentucky, she’s not able to get to Paris as usual this fall but will be going to visit Porter before Christmas. She sends greetings to all.

From west in New Mexico came word from Susan Duncan Wolfe, who reports little news.

She tends to her husband and their household of cats—loves to read and play bridge for relaxation. She reports that the lack of quality sleep is a frustration for her.

Saint Louis news includes the following:

Patsy Clark Ball has driven more miles in the past year than a long-distance trucker. She has been to California and Pennsylvania, amongst other destinations. When she returns home, she often ends up driving to the farm and then drives the tractor to cut the grass.

Patty Duke Dear recently lost her mother, Jewel, at age 105. She was a fun and talented lady, and many classmates can reminisce about the times spent at Patty’s house enjoying her paintings, singing and piano playing. Patty and Dick still run a group home for Pomeranian puppies, and daughter Edie is as delightful as ever.

Joan Schneithorst Fick is enjoying living at Aberdeen Heights and occasionally crosses paths with Barbara Cook, who also lives there. Joan is a faithful user of the exercise facilities. She often has a jigsaw puzzle in progress and doesn’t mind if visitors join in.

Susan Kahn Bromberg recently and suddenly lost her husband, Neil, after a long struggle with Parkinson’s. Our sympathy goes out to Susan and her children. Her parents, Dr. And Mrs. Kahn, are as interesting and interested as ever. Mrs. Kahn doesn’t seem to have changed a bit. Susan just can’t stop learning and is taking three classes but says she has saved two days of the week if anyone wants to go to lunch.

Finally, we have heard from Ann Greve Sadler in Camden, New Jersey. She still runs a Senior Center and is chasing a 4 1/2-year-old grandchild at home. Ann confirmed the sad news that Kathy Ittner died April 18, 2017. Because they were so close, we asked Ann to tell us a bit about Kathy. They both attended Rossman School, lived as youngsters in the CWE near each other, skated at the Winter Garden together and came to Mary Institute in the 6th Grade. Ann mentioned Kathy’s difficult college years and talked about a time when they were each nearing 40, when Kathy asked Ann to come see her, and they had a couple of wonderful days telling stories and laughing. About 30 years later, they regrouped in

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Boston. By then, Kathy had retired teaching ESL. She would, from time to time over the ensuing years, call at odd hours, and she and Ann would relive their early days going back to kindergarten. Kathy is survived by her two children, Daniel Messinger and Amanda Messinger Baler; her grandsons, Theo Baler and Samuel Baler; her sister, Meredith Ittner ’59; and her brother, George Ittner.

Our next class notes deadline will be in February. We will be in touch with you to remind you of it in January. We may even have a survey looking forward to our 55th Reunion which will be in May 2019.

1965 MI

PEGGY DUBINSKY [email protected]

Irene Leland: “I was invited to perform at the X-Poze-Ing Music Awards in Chicago in August. During the show, it was announced that I was among the nominees for Artist of the Year. I was thrilled to win for both Folk and Singer/Songwriter and to come home with two beautiful trophies! My son, Austin Barzantny ’97, is on the cover of the September issue of the new St. Louis lifestyle magazine, MAX, for his redevelopment of the Central Corridor.”

Connie Shapleigh Martin: “It’s been a wonder-ful summer here in sunny San Diego where I’ve enjoyed lots of ‘Doodle’ time with my grandchil-dren and even an encounter with my neighbor’s rescue turtle! My next adventure is in November to visit Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Palestine and includes a cruise through the Suez Canal. Life is good, my friends! Thanks to Peggy Dubinsky Price for helping us stay in touch.”

Ann Calfee Alden: “In June, lightning caused a fire close to my home. I had 30 minutes to evacuate six horses, two dogs, one cat and myself, driving through the flames! I returned after three days, and my ranch was miraculously untouched. In July, I learned my cancer was back and started immunotherapy with Opdivo. So far, I’m doing well and staying active. It was caught early. I enjoy visiting my three grandkids and riding my horse. Take care, everyone.”

MiJohnson Severs: “I had an enjoyable visit in early August from my son, Matt, and one of his five-year-old twins, Carter. At Thanksgiving, the entire Severs family will gather in Seattle to celebrate. Recently, I had a wonderful phone chat with Virginia Drosten, who was calling from New York where she and Patrick were staying for a few weeks. They are both doing well and seem constantly on the move with their many travels.”

Donna Schultz Heidbreder: “I am blessed to live with my daughter, Sarah Heidbreder ’00, who is excellent company and a great help to the old lady! She wants me to join her in yoga class—definitely no photos of that! Turning 70 has been liberating: gloves and all bets are off !! Look out!”

Alice Langenberg Abrams: “Walter and I visited Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, where we wandered this summer. By chance, it was Canada’s 150th birthday, so they eliminated all entry fees to the parks. Also, it was before my birthday, so I felt really young. I celebrated my 70th by taking a five-day pottery workshop on Cape Cod, then luxuriating at Chatham Bars Inn with Walter.”

Rosalie Thompson Maloney: “As we all know, we’re turning 70! I have a new and probably last grandchild who is named Rosalie. She is my eighth grandchild, and my son Andy and his wife’s sixth child! Six children is uncommon these days. To celebrate my 70th, my children and I are going to Africa in November. Very excited. Hope this finds our class of ’65 well. Best to all!”

Bobbi Buell: “David and I spent a week in Tuscany this summer. We took a cooking class with a private chef, and I learned to make my beloved cici with pepe (pasta with butter, cheese and peppercorns). We went to two fabulous wineries in Chianti. Our villa was in Sovicille, which is about 60-70 minutes from Florence and about a half hour from Siena.”

Linda Glick is being honored for her volunteer work with Open Hand, a non-profit organiza-tion that provides meals to the sick and elderly in San Francisco. Linda serves on their board of directors.

Peggy Dubinsky Price: “Dick and I took a fabulous trip in September to celebrate our 70th birthdays and 41st wedding anniversary. We cruised on the Oceania Marina from Copenha-gen to Amsterdam with stops in Helsinki, St. Pe-tersburg, Tallinn, Stockholm, Berlin, Skagen and Oslo. We loved Oceania, an informal cruise line with wonderful shore excursion options in every port. I recently had lunch with Leigh Limberg Mason, who took a similar cruise on a different line with her family, and we enjoyed comparing notes and photos!”

Our love and condolences to Jane Atwood Whitehead on the loss of her husband, Bob; to Susan Donnell Flanigan on the loss of her broth-er, Sunny; and to anyone else who lost a family member this fall. Janie has had a rough year. She had to evacuate her home during Hurricane Irma and sleep on a concrete floor for three nights. Luckily, her home survived with mostly minor damages.

Next deadline: February 2018. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Alice Langenberg Abrams ’65 and Walter at Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland.

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01. Ann Calfee Alden ’65 on Sum Punk on a trail ride near her ranch in Arizona.

02. Elizabeth Kendall ’65 with Margo Jefferson ’65 and Lari Angervo ’65 in Finland.

03. Bobbi Buell ’65 in the hills of Paso Robles.

04. Peggy Dubinsky Price ’65 and Dick in front of Kadriorg Palace in Tallinn, Estonia.

05. Irene Leland ’65 with her guitar, which was a gift from the Presley family after Irene wrote a book about Elaine Presley’s life.

06. Connie Shapleigh Martin ’65 and friend.

07. Rosalie, granddaughter of Rosalie Thompson Maloney ’65.

08. Irene Leland ’65 with son Austin Barzantny ’97.

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1967 MI

Virginia Weidle writes: “We had a wonderful reunion, with more than half of our remaining classmates attending. We caught up with each other and the absentees we each knew. Later, I found out that my 5th great grandfather was accepted as a new patriot in the Daughters of the American Revolution. My nieces appreciate the grants they have received for their college educa-tions, which was my prime motivation. To those who couldn’t attend our 50th, we all missed you!”

Donna Marting Hamilton reports: “Bill and I took a wonderful trip to Portugal and Spain this fall. We visited Lisbon, took a small cruise up the southern coast of Spain and ended up going to Barcelona and Madrid. We saw many fascinating historical sights!”

Lotsie Hermann Holton ’67 at Tiger’s Nest, Bhutan.

1968 MI

JANEY CULVER [email protected]

CAROL FERRING [email protected]

When we asked the Class of 1968 about the eclipse, Hilary Volkman said: “Surely, we are not in eclipse! The best is yet to come, in case you missed it!” Hilary witnessed the totality in Grubville, Missouri, at Christy Marshall’s farm along with Holly Holtz and Holly’s mother.

On the East Coast, Melissa Morriss Schroll witnessed the eclipse in the Hamptons, while Helen French Graves saw it in Scituate, Massachusetts, through a special telescope. With two sons in Colorado and one in Massachusetts, Helen is trying out “living, but not voting!” in both states. After downsizing, she is living in a condo near the ocean in Scituate and another south of Boulder.

Ann Grossman Boon returned to St. Louis to watch the eclipse on a farm near St. Clair with her brother, Cap ’70, and his wife, Jen. She and Jim have moved to “a cool new apartment” in Denver 10 minutes from son Tyler and 10 minutes from Ruth Falchero. Ann and Ruth talked about reunion and will be there. Ann says: “Don’t you remember watching those 50th Reunion ladies at our graduation and our 25th reunion and thinking, ‘We will never be that old.’”

Nancy Fisse Davis also came back to St. Louis to watch the eclipse and saw “about 10 minutes of totality.” She was visiting her mother.

Bo Singer Pratter said they did the eclipse with “no roughing it or traffic to fight on August 21.” They watched from a party on the rooftop of Maryland Walk in Clayton. “Assorted ‘themed’ desserts including mini-Moon Pies, which I don’t recall tasting since apple cart at MI!” Bo and Jerry took off for a Michigan vacation in October.

Carol Ferring Shepley and Jake ’68 roughed it, hoofing it all the way out to a friend’s farm outside of Cedar Hill and fought a traffic jam on the way home. “Seeing the day turn to night on a hilltop was magic. As is our new apartment.” Since their baby, Mi ’13, graduated from college and took off for Manhattan a week later, they sold the family home and moved to a high-rise on Skinker. Jenny Ross Manganaro provided great help with the decorating. And they had fun. “I hope we never take our beautiful views for granted.”

Janey Culver Rouse says she and Sonny ’63, spent the eclipse: “In Montana, inside, without proper protective glasses...because we forgot and waited too long and everyone was sold out. So clueless!” She also has a new, furry addition to her family, Dixie, a small breed of lab who loved her first summer in Montana meeting the four grandchildren.

Victoria Schofield makes our class look very good with all her accomplishments. She just published volume 2 of her history of the Black Watch, five years after the publication of volume 1. A close friend of assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Victoria makes yearly visits to Pakistan to speak at conferences. Last year, she enjoyed traveling around the world on a lecture tour/holiday. She is hoping to and planning on joining us next May.

Missy Ingham Pixton has been very busy seeing and spoiling her first grandchild, Michael Scott Edwards, Jr., or MJ, who was born in June 2016 to her son, Scott, and his wife, Christy. They all took a family, pre-hurricane vacation to Panama City Beach, Florida. Missy and Marv took daughter, Kim, on a Baltic cruise in May. She’s looking forward to reunion.

Lou Horan Noland says she and Ted ’67 “enjoyed another year of exciting travel.” In July, they spent time in Georgia with family, includ-ing all seven grandchildren, three of whom are attending MICDS. This fall, they took a cruise on the Danube river and afterwards met with their son Tee ’95, and his wife, Kim, in Switzerland. Last May, they attended Ted’s 50th reunion and are both looking forward to ours.

On a sad note, Marmee Williams Taylor lost both her husband and her mother, Midge Eddy, this summer.

The hometown team is busy planning our 50th Reunion. Details to follow. Dig deep into your closets: Archives wants your mementos of school days.

1968 CDS

JOHN H. [email protected]

We received word from Bodie Marx ’68 with a few nice family updates: “Julie got married to Tim Heitmann last September and moved back to St. Louis from Columbus, Ohio, to work in financial management at Maritz. Lizzie moved back to St. Louis from Chicago after accepting a recruiting job at NISA in Clayton. I continue to run the

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1 9 6 8_

1 9 8 1Class Notes

curriculum division at School Specialty, a major educational distributor dividing my time between New Hampshire, Cambridge and New York City. Laurie spends considerable time in Naples; I look forward to seeing her, and now my daughters, on weekends.”

Chuck Jones ’68 retired from Stifel, Nicolaus in June after a 34-year career in various forms of fixed income. “I’m in the process of rebalancing my day-to-day activities and slowly planning a great new chapter ahead. My family is great and my health is excellent. It’s a good start.”

1970 MI

LINDA FERGUSON [email protected]

Linda Ferguson Benoist writes, “Hi all, greet-ings! All is good in St. Louis. Work and play still both great—kids, in-laws and grandkids a joy! Took a road trip to Hilton Head for a wedding in October with Barbie Howell Reisner and BIll and then on the Charleston for a little R&R.”

Annie Conant Schlafly and Joe went on an October bike trip to Europe and spent a couple of days doing up Paris with Jill!

It is with great sadness that we report that Judy Lipscomb McCaffrey died in October after a short illness. She was always a smiling beacon for the years we had her in St. Louis, and she will be sorely missed by all her friends and family.

1970 CDS

PAUL [email protected]

Greetings to classmates, family members and friends reading this installment of the CDS ’70 Class Notes.

In keeping with our now annual tradition, we held a reunion dinner at the Racquet Club of St. Louis on September 28. This dinner celebrated the 50th anniversary of the matriculation of those classmates who entered Codasco in class 3.

They included John D. Koch, John T. Koch, Bill Mead and Ming Wu. The turnout was slightly lower than usual this year, with 13 classmates attending. Check out the photo and you’ll see Bill Sprich, Henry Bangert, Mark Johnson, yours truly, Tom Duncan, Cap Grossman, Phil Estep, Jack Thomas, Ernie Planck, Dave Oetting, Bob Wells, John Fox and Mike Crawford. A smashing time was had by all.

A few guys who usually attend were out of town or otherwise unavailable this year. But they all send salutations to the rest of their classmates: Jim Kjorlein, Randy McDonnell, Parker Smith, Bob Hermann, Jeff Miller, Mike Burns, Jon Heitner, Ben Brink, Wes Mellow, Charlie Schott, Tim Gillespie and Tom Barad.

It has also become a tradition to have bagels and coffee at Ernie Planck’s place during my visit to St. Louis. I was pleased to catch up with Ernie, Mark Johnson and Phil Estep. Thanks to Mark for making the trip from down south in Alabama. And kudos to Ernie and Susan for their most excellent breakfast gazebo.

At various other meals, I saw John Chasnoff, Scott Johnson, Cap Grossman, Bob Wells and Ben Brink. I was also pleased to have dinner with Mary and Dave Oetting, Mooie Carpenter and Phil Estep. Special thanks to Mary and Dave for allowing me, once again, to take advantage of their hospitality.

Hal Bible sent a quick update. He is doing well. In October he went pheasant hunting in South Dakota. He will report the results of his next round of tests in a future installment. We are all cheering for you, Hal.

Tim Gillespie reports that he had dinner with Bill Swartout and his wife, Jane Albrecht. Now that Bill and Jane are a couple, they have more reasons to visit St. Louis. I’m glad these fine folks got together for a meal.

Ernie Planck reports that he and Susan have a new granddaughter, Harlow Emerson Baker. Harlow lives across the street from Ernie and Susan, which means that there will be merciless spoiling in evidence. Congratulations, guys!

A small breakfast reunion of classmates from ’70 at Ernie Planck’s house.

Classmates from CDS ’70 gather at the Racquet Club of St. Louis.

1972 MI

Marian King O’Reilly writes: “I am busy running animals hither and yon. I transport rescue animals. I’ve done hundreds of dogs, 11 cats and two roosters. My car went from new car smell to flea spray smell. I have close to 62k miles in a year and a half. Luckily, I drive a Prius. I have a new great-nephew, Jameson David Moyer Irving, the first grandson of Ann O’Reilly Irving ’74. Hope everyone is well and happy.”

19 6 8 C D S C O N T I N U E D >>

54 WINTER 2018

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1 9 8 1Class Notes

1973 CDS

WILLIAM [email protected]

John Moulton is doing well, still working at Duncker, Streett & Co. by day and playing tennis when time permits. Ruth is enjoying her work as an educational consultant. Annie Moulton Peuquet ’06 lives in Denver with her husband and is a founding partner of Envoys, a provider of experiential education trips for some of the coun-try’s top schools. Jack Moulton ’07 lives in San Francisco and is busy selling digital advertising to agencies in California and throughout the west.

In addition to being a respected architect, Phil Gomez is rapidly becoming the leading Latin musician in St Louis. He was a recent headliner at the University City Jazz Festival, not to mention playing the Festival of Nations event this summer with three different bands, one as leader of his own group, “Clave Sol.”

Congratulations to Roger Brodsky and his lovely new bride, Diane. Roger, you are a lucky man!

It is no surprise that marketing genius, Jeff Loeb, has a new hit. While recently driving across the country, trying to avoid the usual vile varmints on the road, Jeff wondered if a family game (for home use) could be created where one actually tries to hit critters! Hhmm..? 1,400 miles later the Redneck Roadkill concept was born. We are told the game taps into what dudes and gals love about pickup trucks, bumper stickers and duct-tape.

Jeff Loeb ’73 promotes Redneck Roadkill.

Paul and Katie Compton ’74 report little change in their own lives other than new uses for old bedrooms. After 10 years on the east coast, older

daughter Mary has returned to Missouri. Living in Columbia, she is press secretary for Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley. Son Wheeler is father of twins born in December 2016 and owner/president of Ultimate Lacrosse, the premier locally-owned specialty lacrosse store in St. Louis. Younger daughter Susie was married this past summer and continues working toward her Ph.D. in American literature.

1976 MI

DIDI NOELKER [email protected]

Renee Reisel Bennett writes: “My daughter, Lara ’04, had her baby boy on August 23, 2017. His name is Zachary Bennett Hacala. Her hus-band, Ryan, and she still live in Maryland. I spent two weeks in September with them and plan to go again in November.”

1980 MI

KIMBERLY RABENBERG [email protected]

Classmates from ’80 met for a reunion in Ocean Reef Key Largo to celebrate their 55th birthdays.

1981 CDS

DAVID [email protected]

Parker Condie writes: “After almost 20 years at Coin Acceptors, I am now CEO of Helicopters Incorporated. We operate camera-equipped

helicopters for the news stations around the country. We are the largest company in our industry and operate in over 35 cities throughout the United States. No, I don’t have a pilot’s license, although it is tempting.”

Evan Benjamin sent an update from Columbia, South Carolina: “I’m working at an AmLaw100 firm Nelson Mullins LLP in Columbia, South Car-olina, managing review platforms and document productions for litigation matters. I recently spoke on a panel addressing federal judges in Arlington, Virginia, discussing the merits of Technology Assisted Review for Discovery in Litigation. I also write quarterly for the International Legal Tech-nology Association Journal. My new interests are machine learning and analytics for litigation.”

Congratulations to Roger Scherck, who recently received the “Excellence in Education” from the Ladue School District for his work as a 7th grade guidance counselor. Roger has been with the district for 24 years. He and his wife, Julie, have daughter Ellie away at Bradley University, and daughter Katie is a junior at Clayton High School.

Mike Jehle is director of the Fairfield Museum in Fairfield, Connecticut, and is the proud papa of two boys, Zander (16) and Adam (14). Zander is a junior at Fairfield Prep and was recently named to the National Honor Society, and Adam, a freshman, will be joining his dad on a three-week sail from Tierra del Fuego to Antarctica aboard the tall ship Europa this December.

And myself, your humble class agent. Bobby and I are busy raising Jonathan, 3rd grade. He plays almost every sport and piano. I’ve been coaching his soccer and baseball teams for several years—great fun. Bobby is five years as director of major gifts at the St. Louis Art Museum, and I’m 19 years at Stifel. I’m serving on the Collaboration and Inclusion Committee for the MICDS board and am glad to help our fine school.

Clark Wolfsberger says, “Wendy ’80 and I are doing well. Clark Light is attending SMU as a sophomore, Jack ’18 is enjoying his senior year at MICDS as is Greta ’22 with her last year in Middle School. I just purchased a garage door company called Precision Door that handles both residential and commercial doors.”

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1 9 8 3_

2 0 0 3Class Notes

1983 CDS

John Howell writes: “The Howell family is doing well and looking forward to the upcoming class reunion this spring. John is celebrating his second anniversary with Centene Corporation, and his wife, Virginia ’83, is continuing her development work with COCA, a local nonprofit. Jack ’12 is now an Analyst with JP Morgan in Chicago after graduating from Brown University, Ford ’16 is enjoying his time at SMU and Gini ’20 is focused on her grades, field hockey and lacrosse.”

Dwight Seward writes: “My older son, Nathan, graduated with honors from Mizzou in June and is in the management program at Target in the Kansas City, Missouri, area. Older step son Alex is a senior in Belmont University’s music business program and is interning in the music publishing field. Younger step son Brycen is a sophomore at Iowa State where he looks to complete a double major in MIS and supply chain management. And younger son Hank is a sophomore at University of St. Thomas majoring in entrepreneurship. Kim and I recently moved to Vero Beach, Florida. We are building a home near the ocean, which should be ready in spring 2018.”

1984 MI

From Trowbridge Meier: “I’ve been back in St. Louis for almost three years now and have enjoyed reconnecting with classmates. I continue to cheer on my nieces and nephew at MICDS with their many activities throughout the year. I have enjoyed traveling and last year had a chance to visit Peru and Morocco with Allison Roberts ’88. My new job takes me to exciting places as well, like Dubai. Otherwise, I’m home either involved in fun yard work or preferably looking for someone to enjoy a round of golf with me!”

1984 CDS

Frank Sant reports: “Sarah Sant ’16 played on the Grey College field hockey team at Durham University (U.K.) where they captured the league

and tournament titles while going undefeated. She will be a 2018 team captain. Jack Sant ’17 served as captain of the 2016 MICDS team, which beat Burroughs and all the other Metro teams to bring home the league title. He also served as captain of the 2017 MICDS lacrosse team, which won its fourth consecutive State Championship and finished as the #6 ranked team in the Midwest. Caroline Sant ’19 contin-ues to dance at Krupinski and was recently voted “Mom’s Favorite Child who lives at home.”

1985 MI

AMY MCFARLAND [email protected]

Margee Niemann and Ken are almost empty nesters! Allie ’17 graduated from MICDS last spring and joins big sister Cameron ’15 at the University of Georgia in Athens. Go Dawgs! Nick ’20, a sophomore at MICDS, gets all of his parents loving attention now!

Vanessa Revard Roman reports: “It’s been a pretty great year. Screened my comedy feature film The Importance of Doubting Tom at the Tivoli for a local Film Festival showing. We still had some work to do on the score, so we finished up in August with legendary Harry Manfredini, who generously wrote an original score just for my movie! My youngest daughter, Isabella, started middle school this year, and middle child Marissa is attending Webster University. The older three are also doing well! Caught up with Dede Boud-inet and got to drive her and brand new husband to the airport to set off on their honeymoon. You can hear my Uber stories on KTRS Tuesday nights on Jay Kanzler’s show. Hope to see you all at a reunion soon!”

Carol Platt Liebau writes that she and her nine-year-old twins, Andrew and Elizabeth, recently had the opportunity to visit with Lauren Boeschentstein Gundlach and her daughter, Elise, when they traveled from their home in Seattle to Manhattan for a family event. Lauren and her family were also headed for Paris in June—while Carol will be spending a good deal of time in Hartford, Connecticut this summer (she

works as president of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, a free-market think tank).

Dede Boudinet writes, “For the first time in years I actually have news! Lots of changes in the past year. Moved to U City, my dad passed away and I got married (June 17), all in three months. Wed-ding was fabulous (I am a little biased!)! Married Bill Wallace ’86. My new mother-in-law is Lee Trueblood Wallace Pommer ’60—yes, Mrs. Wallace from Middle School! I was honored to have Rebecca Penniman, Chrissy Simon Suga-vanam and Anne Wallace ’89 as bridesmaids and Ginny Yoder Murphy ’81 reading.

Elizabeth Hanaway Geiger writes that she and her newly retired husband moved in February to Staunton, Virginia, where they plan to spend the remainder of their days painting. “Just blocks from main street, 220 W Frederick St. was designed in 1898 and finished in 1903. Check out the pics on Zillow. It’s a stunner. We would love a visit!”

1987 MI

DREES A. [email protected]

The Cline family moved this summer! We now live across the street from MICDS! It works nicely, as Marin ’25 can essentially roll out of bed and land in her classroom.

Kaki Rohan Ianchulev writes that she has lived in Marblehead, Massachusetts, for nine years and has two children, Sophia (13) and Sander (11). She owns a clothing boutique, Seaside Allure, with a business partner. She has two locations, Marblehead and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She loves New England, skis in the winter and sails in the summer!

Moyenda Mutharika Knapp says, “I live in the Chicago suburbs with my husband and two sons (18 and 15). I’m a partner at MWH Law Group LLP. I have been teaching at Northwestern University School of Law as an adjunct professor since 2005. I joined the MICDS Board of Visi-tors in 2016 and also stay active on the boards of two charitable organizations. In my spare time, I

56 WINTER 2018

love to run, and in October 2017, I completed my fourth marathon in two years. I also love to travel, including at least one trip to Africa every year. One trip this year was to the MICDS reunion. It was great to see the class of ’87!”

1988 MI

Holly Leicht served as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s regional administrator for New York and New Jersey under President Obama. After the Obama ad-ministration ended, Holly spent several months writing a report on how government at all levels can improve its approach to disaster recovery, based on her experience leading HUD’s regional recovery from Superstorm Sandy. Since August 2017, Holly has been the executive vice presi-dent for real estate development and planning for Empire State Development, New York’s economic development agency. She lives in the Bronx, overlooking the Hudson River, with her husband, Adam, and stepkids, Liv (18), who is now at Harvard, and Colin (17).

1989 MI

Libby Curtis McCandless writes: “We’re still in Kirkwood with daughters in 10th and 7th grade. I volunteer for several great organizations—on the board of directors for The St. Louis Children’s Choirs, where my oldest has been singing for nine years. I’m also an area coordinator and group leader for Moms in Prayer International and have gotten to visit the MICDS group several times. I’ve been working part-time at Athleta (Plaza Frontenac), where I’ve had a blast running into fellow ’89 classmates Jill Shuert Buchanan, Laura Montani Corn, Stacey Lohr Graves, Martha Kaufman Sneider and Joanna Eckhoff Tschudy. Hugs to all!”

1991 MI

Elizabeth Dilley Garcia writes: “I graduated from Washington University School of Law last May and was admitted to the Missouri Bar. I’m now practicing with my mom, Nancy Dilley, whose small firm in downtown Clayton focuses on estate planning. My husband, Juan, is an engineer at Cannon Design, and our 5th grader Joey keeps us busy with band, orchestra, soccer, baseball and math club.”

1997 MICDS

Talmage E. Newton IV writes: “All is well with the Newtons. I am still living in the City of St. Louis with my wife, Anna, and our two kids, age 6 and 8. I was excited to move my law firm Newton Barth L.L.P. from St. Louis County to downtown this year. We moved into a historic property on Washington Ave. that has a lot of exposed brick and beams. We just finished the build-out and renovation, and if you are in the neighborhood, please drop by and say hello.”

1999 MICDS

Daniel Miller says: “I have seen a number of fellow MICDS grads recently. Robb Preston and I met for lunch in Clayton, and the restaurant staff seemed to enjoy the fact that we were both wearing red bow ties. I was in Boston for work and promptly called Ziggy Zografakis ’00 who was too busy to see me. Chris Haffenreffer and I recently cooked hot dogs and marshmallows over a campfire in the Ozark Mountains. Dick Lammert came over for dinner while in town. He stayed too late, but we had fun.”

2003 MICDS

Julian Jacquin began a new position as the economic development manager for the City of Wildwood in October 2016. He says, “The City of Wildwood is a growing community in west St. Louis County with exceptional green space and is known throughout the region for its physical landscapes and high quality living.”

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13th Annual Legacy Dinner At MICDS, we are proud to count among our alumni population multiple generations of families—our alumni legacy families. And each year, members of the senior class come together with their alumni parents and/or alumni grandparents, as legacy families, for a special celebration. This year, the 13th annual Legacy Dinner took place on Sunday, October 29 to honor 36 members (18 girls and 18 boys) of the MICDS Class of 2018 who have alumni connections to our School. Overall, 110 guests were in attendance, with alumni dating back from the 1940s and every decade since. In fact, some members from the Class of 2018 could trace their families’ connections to the School as far back as the 1800s.

This year’s event featured three speakers who shared their thoughts and memories on what this School means to them and what it means to be a legacy: Caryl Green Simon ’55, grandmother of Jason Sugavanam ’18; Fifi Lugo ’80, mother of Lou Chalfant ’18; and Wilson Graves, representing the MICDS Class of 2018.

26% of current students are children of alumni.

57MICDS

A L U M N I A C C O L A D E S

Mestiza New York, a clothing line co-founded and owned by Louisa

Rechter ’05, recently launched at Neiman Marcus in St. Louis. The line

was inspired by Louisa and her business partner’s Philippine heritage,

and Mestiza is a Spanish word often used in the Philippines for a woman of

mixed race and foreign ancestry. In addition to being picked up by Neiman

Marcus, the line has also been spotted recently on red carpets. In a recent

interview with St. Louis Magazine, Rechter described the resilience it took

to earn success in the industry. She said, “At first, our efforts failed; no

one answered our calls or wanted to meet with us. But then we decided to

adopt a more direct-to-consumer model and attended trunk shows in New

York City and Palm Beach. We sold 100 pieces in two weeks and then had

the money to invest in making more. In our third season, we sent our ‘look-

book’ to several buyers, and it happened to land in the inbox of Nieman’s

top buyer.”

A still from a scene in Donald Rosenfeld’s film, “Cradle of Champions,” which screened at the St. Louis International Film Festival in November.

Louisa Rechter `05, co-founder and owner of Mestiza New York.

A shot from Mestiza New York’s spring 2018 Lookbook.

Donald Rosenfeld ’81 recently produced the documentary film “Cradle of

Champions,” which screened at the St. Louis International Film Festival

and also won “Best Documentary” at the Big Sky Film Festival in Montana.

“Cradle of Champions” captures the epic story of three young people

fighting for their lives in the oldest, biggest and most important amateur

boxing tournament in the world: the New York’s Daily News Golden Gloves.

“Cradle of Champions” follows three inspiring individuals on an urban od-

yssey through the 10-week Golden Gloves. The film had complete access

to the tournament — for the first time in its 90-year history — and to its

characters.

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59 FALL 2017


— J A C K D A N F O R T H ’ 5 4

"When the school honors us for what our

interests are, then we start honoring each

other. We start out with different kids,

different interests. And we end up as

seniors respecting each other, and liking

each other and honoring each other.

We have this bond with our different

interests, but we respect those different

interests. And we’re still friends."

Jack Danforth `54 served as the keynote speaker for the Centennial celebration of St. Louis Country

Day School’s founding, held on November 17, 2017. During the event, Jack shared various light-

hearted memories of his days as a CDS student on the Brown Road campus, the students’ common

commute on the bus, and the exceptional teachers who evoked passion in him and his peers.JACK DANFORTH ’54

59MICDS

101 N. Warson RoadSaint Louis, MO 63124Address Service Requested

T H E N

N OW

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P O N D P L U N G E :

Throwing students into the pond has been a tradition since the sixties, and today, students throw the first Senior into the pond who’s accepted into college. (pg. 15)

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United States Postage

P A I D

Saint Louis, Missouri

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Documents

THE MAGAZINE VOLUME 28 NO. 1 | WINTER 2018 · Britt Vogel CLASS NOTES COPY EDITORS Anne Stupp McAlpin ’ 64 Libby Hall McDonnell ’ 58 ... As a student at MICDS, Gabie knows first-hand